Four Years Later
by samo810
Summary: UPDATED version of After Four Years. In the four years since she graduated from Yale, Rory has worked hard to move up in her career and move on in her personal life. When she wakes up one morning after hearing a familiar voice in her dream, she suddenly finds that she has to face what she has tried so hard to leave behind... those thoughts, those feelings, that guy. Post-fin, ROGAN
1. Chapter 1: The Dream

My eyes flew open and I sat straight up in my bed. I could feel myself sweating through my old Yale t-shirt. _What was that?_ It had taken me years, but I was sure that I had finally packed all of those feelings into a tiny, imaginary box and buried them somewhere deep inside. Some days, keeping that box locked up was harder that it should be after all these years, but I had not had a dream like _that_ in a _long_ time; a dream about him… _about Logan_.

I sat in the dim room; lit only by the television I had fallen asleep to, trying to recall the details of the dream. I had been sitting at my desk at work; alone in an empty office, after everyone else had gone home for the night. Staring at the half finished article on my computer screen, I knew it was missing something… what it really needed was an angle. I was trying to come up with something inspiring, but was at a loss. That's when the phone rang… _There it is; this is where Logan comes in_. I could feel beads of sweat starting to form again as I continued to replay the dream. As I answered the phone I heard his smooth, confident voice came through the receiver, "I'll help you with your article; you just have to agree to a few conditions."

Hearing his voice is what woke me up. It was so familiar, and felt so real. He had made that promise before, not in a dream, but in real life, years ago when we were working at the Yale Daily News. That was the beginning of us. We had known each other before, but that weekend with the Life and Death Brigade was the start of something, even if neither one of us wanted to admit it at the time. Logan was just so magnetic, even when I was trying to dislike him. He was adventurous, and always a little cocky, but he was smart enough to back it up. He could be reckless and he made mistakes, but underneath his devil-may-care façade, he really was sincere, and even romantic. And that smirk; that little half smile of his that he knew exactly how to use to his advantage… I never stood a chance. Even when things hadn't been easy between us, we were still good together. We had fun together, and we…

 _Stop it._ Why am I doing this to myself? That was almost four years ago. We have been apart twice as long as we were together, and I haven't heard a word from him in all that time. Sitting in the dark, thinking about what once was? _Why am I such a masochist?_ This is what that tiny, invisible box is for. I just need to shove it all back in, lock it up and throw away the key. _I need coffee._

I could see through the two small windows above my bed that it was still dark outside, and a glance at my alarm clock told me that it was almost 4:30. _4:30 in the morning?_ I haven't been up this early since the campaign ended, and even then, at this hour I was probably half asleep with my face against the bus window on the way to our next stop. Even still, I am not risking going back to sleep now. At this point I would probably end up sleeping through my alarm, or worse, I could fall back into a dream that I would rather not revisit. I rolled out of bed and shuffled my way to the other side of my apartment in search of caffeine. Normally I consider the auto timer on the coffee maker to be one of the greatest inventions of our time, but it did me no good this morning; I was awake before the machine was even warm. I hopped in a quick shower, hoping to clear my head while I waited for my coffee to brew.

I filled the largest mug I have full of fresh coffee and sat down on my well-worn couch in front of the TV, with CNN still on from the night before. _I never have time to do this…_ Maybe I should get up early more often. _Right, like that's going to happen_. I decided I might as well enjoy some 'me' time while I have it. As I sat there enjoying my coffee, I found myself looking around my apartment. It was a tiny studio on the fourth floor of a pre-war walk up, not in the best shape, and not in the best neighborhood – definitely outside the magical, rent-controlled world of big city sitcoms. When I landed my job at The Post I took what I could afford. My mom isn't thrilled that I live here at all, let alone by myself, and if she ever told Luke how much I pay to live here, he would absolutely lose it. For that matter, my grandparents would probably have the building condemned if they ever saw it, but I don't mind it. It's a little small… okay _a lot_ small… I have to use my oven as an extra bookshelf, but honestly, _what else would I use it for anyway_?

Looking around my cramped but cozy space I was actually very happy to be living there, proud even – I was making it in New York like I had always wanted. I pulled a blanket over my feet, thankful to be where I am, even with the late winter cold spell that had settled over the city… _although, enjoying my morning coffee under a big avocado tree in a sunny backyard wouldn't be so bad either…_

 _What is wrong with me today?_ I shook my head and downed the rest of what was in my mug, imagining that tiny, invisible box. _Lock it up_. I shuffled through the garment rack that served as my closet to find something to wear to work. Maybe if I get my day started I will be able to get my head on straight. I put on my grey suit, picked a pair of black pumps out from under my bed and pulled on my coat. I grabbed a Pop Tart out of the cabinet as I picked up my bag and headed out the door. Down the block from my apartment I boarded the M train and rode the 20 minutes to 51st Street. On my way into the building I stopped at the coffee cart on the corner. I still haven't found coffee as good as Luke's, but this was a decent substitute… _so was that personal coffee cart at Yale._ Shaking my head once again at my own ridiculousness, I bought my second cup for the day and headed into the lobby. _I really need to get to work._

When the campaign was winding down three years ago I must have sent resumes out to a hundred newspapers and online magazines. I had gotten some offers from smaller papers in Boston and D.C., but I knew that I wanted to be in New York. What I really wanted was The New York Times, but I had been through it before, losing out on another job holding out for them. Just before the inauguration I got a call from the New York Post. A fact checking job was open, a low paying and pretty much thankless position, but once I paid my dues I would have my chance, and I got it. After almost a year of fact checking I talked my way into a features assignment and got my first byline, and not too long afterword I got myself a desk in the newsroom.

It was early, so it was still quiet in the office when I sat down. In the back of my mind there was a faint familiarity to my dream, but I successfully quashed that feeling. I had a few emails waiting for me and a couple of potential assignments sitting in my inbox. I was getting through the emails when I got a text from my friend Leslie, wanting to meet at the coffee cart downstairs. She was understandably shocked to learn that I was already at my desk, and it was only ten minutes later that she was standing over me, demanding to know what was up. _Crap_.

Les and I were in the trenches together when we started at The Post. After a martini fueled Breakfast Club experience one night after work, as she sloppily tied her blonde hair into a bun, she filled me in on how she came to New York from Chicago on a whim after her boyfriend, Ben, broke her heart when he cheated on her. She had written freelance before she landed the fact checking gig at The Post. For my part, the gin spilled to hear about having turned down Logan's proposal, how he took off for California while I ended up on the campaign and I haven't heard from him since. In response, Leslie ordered another round of drinks, we vowed to leave all of that in the past in favor of fresh starts in the city, and we've been friends ever since.

My plan for the morning had been to dive into work and try to forget about all of the craziness that had been running through my head, but Leslie knew me too well. She knew something was up and she wasn't going to let it go. She dragged me into the break room, sat me down at the table and put a fresh cup of coffee in front of me, "Spill."

I reluctantly started to tell her about the dream, but stopped short in the middle of my sentence. For the first time today I noticed the date. From the large wall calendar hanging behind Leslie's head it stood out like a sore thumb. Someone may as well have highlighted every inch of the little square… _it's his birthday._

It really shouldn't matter. _Why would I even notice that?_ I haven't spoken to him at all, let alone wished him happy birthday in four years. And anyway, he never made a big deal about his birthday… _But I did_. I remembered the hoopla-filled, Gilmore-approved extravaganza I planned for his 25th… _Stop_. I took a deep breath and a big gulp of coffee before I looked at Leslie. She was waiting with baited breath, so I continued.

As I finished my dream synopsis, I was expecting her to tell me to snap out of it, as we had always done for each other on the rare occasion that our past had come up to haunt us, but instead she looked at me through her mascaraed lashes with her mouth tight.

Now I was the one who was sure something was up. "What?"

"Rory…" She sighed, clearly struggling internally with whether or not what she had to say should be said, "He's in the city."

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Thank you to everyone who is re-experiencing this story, and welcome to anyone who is finding it for the first time. As I said in the Author's Note in After Four Years, I will be releasing a couple of chapters at a time in anticipation of new material. I hope you continue to read, because I am really looking forward to it! As always, please comment and favorite. I love hearing from you! xoxo


	2. Chapter 2: I'm Getting You Drunk Tonight

Time froze. I felt myself start to sweat again as I had early this morning. _He's in New York?_

 _He's supposed to be on the west coast._ When Leslie and I made our pact to start fresh, I wanted it to be that simple; that's what the tiny, invisible box is for. The whole time I was on the campaign trail I had spent nights laying in hotel beds thinking about Logan… Whether I did the right thing saying no, debating about whether I should try and contact him, imagining what life would have been like in that big house in California, wondering if he was hurting the same way I was. Everything I felt for the better part of a year – hurt, angry, lonely, guilty, and everything in between – had all revolved around one person. _Logan_. I am finally living my own life and now…

My mind was spinning. "What is he doing here? How do you know he's here?"

"He's here on business, I was sure you had heard. That's why I wanted to meet you this morning." I could tell she was surprised that this was new information to me. "Reports were out last night that his company announced official plans to open a New York office and expand to the east coast. He has a press conference later today."

I fell asleep watching the news last night. _That would explain the dream_. I must have heard something. I really should have seen it coming. Despite the invisible box, I had followed his career. _How could I not?_ He was heading up a company that had become a major player in the media communications world. Even if I hadn't _known_ Logan, I would know who he is, merely by the virtue of us working in the same industry. His company helps existing publications set up multimedia outlets, and finds and invests in startups. He's been very successful, and I couldn't help but feel proud, despite everything that has happened. I managed to keep my pride a safe distance from my heart, which I'm realizing was probably thanks in part to our physical separation.

His company had steadily grown since his move to California, continuing to take on bigger clients around the Silicon Valley, and expanding to the rest of the west coast – LA, Seattle, Portland. It only made sense for them to continue to grow… to come to New York. _Where is his press conference?_

"Honey, New York is a big city. You'll probably never have to see him."

 _What if I want to? What if…_

"No, no, no… I can see your mind working overtime, Rory. We decided a long time ago that we were better than what those guys did to us. If he wasn't willing to wait for you, he didn't deserve you. Besides, we've moved on. We've dated other people…"

That was true. I had dated some, but I've never been good at dating. Nothing had ever been serious, but I had _tried_ to move on. "Right…" I was obviously still trying to convince myself of it as I said it. "You're right."

We both took a deep breath. Leslie looked at me for a second and then very decidedly informed me, "I'm getting you drunk tonight."

The rest of the day dragged on. I managed to get some work done during the rest of the morning, repeating to myself what Les had said, _we moved on_. But when it came time for me to sit in on a lunch meeting, my head was anywhere but in the conference room. _He was in the city. He was here, and I hadn't heard from him._ Of course I haven't heard from him. Why would I? He probably doesn't even know that I'm here. The meeting was over before I could even get myself together enough to focus.

I grabbed another cup of coffee before heading back to my desk, making a mental to-do list on my way there, but when I sat down I found myself on the internet, searching for details about Logan's press conference. _I shouldn't be doing this; I should be able to continue to be proud of him from a distance._ It's at four o'clock. I looked at the clock… two and a half hours. In two and a half hours I could see him. His picture had been around over the years… in press releases, awarding giant checks at charity events, everywhere a successful business man should be. But he would be speaking... I would hear is voice. _Oh my god. I'm pathetic. Get it together, Gilmore._ I needed back up.

"I'm sorry, who is this? I'm not sure I heard you correctly. My _daughter_? That can't be, she never calls."

"Ha ha. I'm sorry I haven't called lately."

"Well fine, I'm sure you can make it up to me somehow. Maybe with a trip home on a certain night of the week… perhaps a Friday?"

When Emily had found out that Mom and Luke were back together she was not exactly thrilled, but after what happened with my dad, she was uncharacteristically accepting. When they decided to get married, she even acquiesced to a Stars Hallow wedding, on the condition that she got to host a cocktail party in their honor. But when Mom got pregnant Emily was back in true form, insisting on being involved, sometimes overly, in the baby's life, even insisting that Luke and baby Landon join Mom at Friday night dinners under the pretense of being owed for all that she and Richard missed out on with me when I was young.

"Sure Mom… just probably not this Friday."

"Ooooh! You have plans? Do you have a date? Please tell me you have a date."

"Mom!"

"Oh come on! You are the most boring single, New Yorker on the planet. I'm supposed to be living vicariously through you, now that I'm a wife and mother."

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you've been a mother for _twenty-six years_."

"What? Sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of all your cats meowing in the background."

"Hey!"

"Well? I'm not the one who doesn't have a date Friday. What are you planning on doing that's more important that visiting your mother, anyway?"

"Working, probably, but if it makes you feel any better about my spinster life, things aren't quite so dull today."

"How so?"

For a second, I almost regretted my decision to call her, imagining what the impending reaction to my next statement will be, "Logan is in New York."

There was a stunned pause before she finally came up with "Logan? _Logan_ Logan."

" _Logan_ Logan."

"Did he call you?"

"No."

"Email?"

"No."

"Then what's...?"

I filled her in on everything… the dream, everything that's been running through my head all day, my debating about whether or not to watch the press conference. She didn't say anything for a minute. My mother being caught speechless made me feel a little better about my own freak out.

"So… how long is your pro-con list?"

" _Mom_. After all of that, all you can come up with is a joke?"

"I was only _half_ joking… I just assumed that you had made a list about seeing him."

" _Seeing him_? I was only talking about watching the press conference."

"Really, Rory? You and I both know that's not all this is about. "

"Even if I _was_ thinking about seeing him, which I'm _absolutely_ not, I don't even know where I would start with a list."

"You probably have to start with how you feel about him."

Her words hung in the air for a minute and then hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn't do it. That box was closed. Les was right, he left and I deserved better. I decided not to call him years ago, why should I decide differently now?

"Well… It's a nonissue. I'm not seeing him... I'm not even going to watch the press conference."

"Alright…"

The hint of doubt in her voice made me just that more determined to ignore him and the press conference. By the time I hung up with my mom, after hearing all about Luke taking Landon on his first fishing trip and getting the latest on the inn – the spa was doing very well, I was committed to forgetting about the press conference and refocusing on work for the rest of the day.

I put my efforts solely into finishing my latest assignment, and for the first time all day was actually productive. I was so engrossed, in fact, that it was after six o'clock when Leslie showed up at my desk demanding that I wrap it up so that we could stop back at my apartment before we headed out for the night.

When we were on the train I told Leslie that I had managed to get my head on straight and taking me out for the night really wasn't necessary.

"Honey, I'm really proud of you for telling yourself that you handled all of this in less than a day, but let's be real. I've moved on from Ben's cheating ass… _repeatedly_ … but once in a while I still have flashbacks to the nightmare he put me through, and he's not even a majorly successful hunk of man meat that unexpectedly reappeared in my life like he-who-shall-not-be-named is. Admit it, you need a drink."

 _Leslie, always finding a way with words…_ "Fine." It had, after all been an exceptionally long, emotionally draining day.

"That's my girl! Besides, I plan on gussying you up and pumping you with enough liquid courage to send you home with somebody who will really take your mind off things."

I shook my head. I had no intention of going home with anyone tonight, but I appreciate that her heart is in the right place.

By the time we had climbed the four flights of stairs and made our way inside I realized I hadn't eaten anything since that picking at my lunch during the meeting that afternoon. I looked in the fridge and saw some leftover Chinese food from the other night… in true Lorelai fashion I stuck it in the microwave for a few minutes and let Leslie know dinner was served.

I turned around to find her rummaging through my makeshift closet before she thrust a black dress in my face. She stopped for a minute to munch on some kung pao chicken, then continued to buzz around the little apartment, turning on the curling iron in the bathroom, pulling shoes out from under my bed and taking the liberty of finding herself something to change into.

"Is all this really necessary to go to McConnell's?" It was our go-to place for post work drinks, just uptown from the office, and it definitely did not require a little black dress and heels.

"Look good, feel good. Here, drink up… you'll thank me later." She put a bottle of water in my hand and pushed a chair into the bathroom. "Sit."

She busied herself curling my hair, while I followed her instructions about the water, knowing she was probably right. While she took the curling iron to her own hair I applied some eyeliner and mascara... If we're going to do this, I might as well do it right.

Once we were dressed and checking out our handy work in the full length mirror that stood against the wall, I had to admit, Leslie was right again. Her look good, feel good theory did have me feeling a little more confident, though I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of admitting it out loud. We bundled up to head back to the train, as ready to 'hit the town' as I would ever be.

We walked into the bar, grabbed a table and ordered a round of gin martinis with a twist and an order of fries, our usual. It was pretty busy for a Thursday night, music up a little louder that a regular weeknight, but I didn't mind; it added to evening's theme of distraction. We got our drinks and Les immediately raised her glass, "To my beautiful, brilliant friend, deserving of guy who treats her right!" I bowed my head and raised my in turn, "Likewise!" And we drank… _and drank_.

After three martinis and just the right amount of greasy French fries I was powerless to fight against Les dragging me out on the dance floor… pulling a Christina and Meredith she had decided we needed to 'dance out' the day.

A half an hour, one more martini, and Leslie's failed attempt to set me up with an actor on the verge of his 'big break' later, I was ready to call it a night. It took some convincing, including a reminder that we _did_ have to work tomorrow, to get her to head out, but we finally made our way towards the door at about quarter after twelve. On our way out we ended up having to weave our way through a big group going the opposite direction. Les grabbed my hand in an effort not to get separated and led me out the door, making some joke about being fish swimming upstream. As I laughed, I bumped shoulders with a guy on his way in and turned back to shoot him an apology.

He had turned back too, and when I met he's eyes I froze. The blond hair, the deep brown eyes… _the smirk_. It felt like I had been hit by a truck instead of person.

"Ace?"

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Stay tuned for more! Follow, Comment and Favorite! xxooxx


	3. Chapter 3: A Brunette Courtney Love

I heard the surprise in his voice, but it seemed to pale in comparison to the shock that was coursing through my body right now. _This cannot be happening._ I had convinced myself of what Les said about New York being a big city. It _is_ a big city. How in the world did we end up in the same bar on the same night? McConnell's was _my_ bar _._ He didn't belong here, Leslie and I belonged here.

I didn't know what to do or say. I guess Leslie had felt me stop behind her, and I heard her voice but I sounded like it was a million miles away.

"Rory, what's the hold up? Decide to go back for martini number…"

She trailed off. Without looking at her I knew she had turned around and saw him. He had let the rest of who I assumed were his friends continue into the bar but he stayed, standing in the doorway, his eyes locked with mine.

I felt Leslie grab my hand again and start to pull me away, but I couldn't let go of his gaze.

"Ace!" He called to me again as I stumbled down the alley after Leslie, towards the street and the subway station. _She was right; I had to get out of here._

I hadn't said anything. _What was I supposed to say?_ He's the one that showed up out of nowhere, but his voice, calling me by the name only he had ever used, rang in my head as I sat on the train. I was in a daze, almost completely unaware of my surroundings. It was only thanks to Leslie that I found my way upstairs to my apartment. I had thrown my coat over a chair and found myself sitting on my bed staring into the middle of the room before I managed to come out of my fog and say something.

"It was him."

"It was him." Leslie repeated. She was sitting on the couch staring at me. "You doing okay?"

I still wasn't sure. Like a zombie I walked over to the coffee maker and turned it on. I was going to need caffeine to process all of this.

For a moment I was upset with Leslie and I snapped at her, "You said I wouldn't have to see him." Immediately I knew it was unfair. "I'm sorry, I just…"

"I know."

I poured a cup of the fresh coffee and took a big gulp. I tried to look at the big picture instead of focusing on him calling me as we walked away. I knew it was his birthday, he must have been celebrating, or maybe even reveling in what I trust was a successful press conference.

"What am I supposed to do, Les?"

"Honestly? I don't know. I guess you don't have to do anything if you don't want to. It's not like either of you went looking for the other; you don't owe him anything."

I collapsed into a chair. _Oh boy_ … Suddenly I felt every single one of those martinis and a headache set in. I put my head down on the table, coffee cup still in my hand.

"Come on, you need some sleep."

Leslie took the cup from my hand and put it in the sink, before lifting me out of the chair and leading me over to the bed. She threw some pajamas at me as I kicked off my shoes and unzipped my dress. Without even bothering to take off my makeup, I laid down and tried to sleep.

I tossed and turned for a long while before I managed to drift off, but even then my sleep was restless. I kept hearing his voice and reliving him turning around in that doorway, looking straight into my eyes.

When my alarm blared I rolled over and heavily dropped my hand down on the snooze button. Ten minutes later when it sounded again I finally opened my eyes. I saw Leslie stirring by the couch. She had stayed the night. At that moment I really appreciated having a friend like her. As I slowly managed to stand up out of bed she met me with a warm cup of coffee and a sympathetic look.

My head was throbbing and as I passed the mirror on the way to the table I realized I looked as bad as I felt. My makeup from last night was now smeared and smudged, and managed to accentuate the bags that were all too noticeable under my eyes. My hair that was previously curled was now an unfortunate tangle around my face. I looked like a brunette Courtney Love.

I sat down in the same chair I had collapsed into only a few hours before and felt Leslies eyes on me.

"So? Have you decided how we're going to play this?"

I exhaled, "We're going to play this like I'm terribly hung-over and…" I looked at the clock, "… _Ugh_ , going to be late getting to the office."

I stumbled my way to the bathroom to do some damage control. What I really needed was a long hot shower, but I should already be out the door. Instead I washed my face, managed to run a brush through my hair, get it into a bun, and dabbed some concealer under my eyes. I stared at my reflection and the troubled face staring back led me to the only possible conclusion… it was going to be a long day.

I came out of the bathroom to find Leslie dressed in her skirt from the day before and one of my blouses. I quickly pulled on pants and a top, slipped into some flats, and shook my coat out from its heap on the chair.

We headed out the door to catch the train and found that the wind had picked up overnight and it was even colder than the day before. With no time for a stop at the coffee cart, we waited for the elevator in the lobby, figuring that I would have to settle for a mediocre cup from the break room. The fluorescent lights of the office were not helping my headache, which I suspected was just as much from last night's encounter with Logan as it was from the alcohol.

"Hang in there, champ." Some words of encouragement with a hint of pity from Leslie as I headed to my desk, planning to drop off my coat and bag before I went in search of caffeine.

To my surprise, when I got to my desk, I found a warm cup of coffee already waiting for me, steam rising out of the whole in the lid, and it smelled much better than what came from the break room. I looked toward Leslie, wondering if she had somehow arranged it, but she shrugged her shoulders, just as surprised to see it as I was. She came back to my desk, curious about the mystery gift. I picked up the cup to find a simple note on the desk, handwritten on an ivory card, plain save for a thin silver frame embossed around the edges… _Enjoy – L._ Nothing else, but I knew exactly who "L" was; his handwriting was exactly the same as it was years ago.

I had no idea how to feel about this. I sat down with the card in my hand and suddenly had a vision of the coffee cart he had hired to follow me around Yale. _No._ This is not happening. I took the cup and the note and unceremoniously dropped them into the trash can.

"Just like that?" I had forgotten that Leslie was standing behind me.

"Yes." I stared down at it in the bin and nodded, reassuring myself once more. _Logan and his grand gestures…_ "How could I enjoy coffee from him?" It finally hit me just how upset I still was with him. Sure, I had chosen not to call him after he left. I was hurt; I wasn't going to beg him to take me back. I told him that I wasn't ready to get married and he just left. If he changed his mind about the ultimatum, he would have called me, but he hadn't. He turned his back on us, not me.

"Okay… Just wanted to make sure I knew where we stood after last night."

"Where else am I supposed to stand? Does he expect that he can show up, send me a cup of coffee, and we could be… I don't even know what… _Friends_? No."

"I agree." But she looked at me like she could tell how hard I was working to convince myself of that.

"Besides, I've got work to do."

"Well, you go get 'em, tiger." She mockingly gave me a soft punch to the shoulder, as if I was heading into the big game before heading back towards her own desk.

I stood up, marched into the break room, got myself a less complicated cup of coffee, and proceeded to do exactly as I had said. I pushed last night out of my mind… _well, to the back of my mind at least_ , and got to work. I submitted the article I had finished yesterday to my editor, Gerry, and got started on research for my next piece.

When I headed home for the day, I was entirely focused on the hot shower that I didn't get to take that morning. I stood under the hot water for a while, just letting the last couple of days wash away. After my shower I pulled on some sweats and was thinking about curling up with some popcorn and an old movie when my cell phone rang… _Mom_.

"Hey, how's my first born doing?"

I could hear Landon crying in the background… the terrible twos had obviously set in.

"At the moment, it sounds like better than your second born… barely."

"Uh oh. New developments in the drama saga?"

"While I appreciate the alliteration, I'm not exactly in the mood to joke about it yet."

"Fine, no jokes. Want to _talk_ about it, at least?"

"I guess… Hey, shouldn't you be on your way to Friday night dinner?"

"Ah! I figured you would need some support so I told Emily that Landon wasn't feeling well and I didn't want to risk making it worse by taking him out and then hung up real quick before she could protest. I'm sure I'll pay for it later, but desperate times call for desperate measures… Now, ready to spill?"

"First of all, I resent the implication that I am desperate…" _Honestly, I don't need any help feeling that way_. "But fine… Are you sitting down?"

"Oh boy… Let me call Luke and see if he can handle Landon at the Diner for a while. I'll call you back to get all the juicy details."

She hung up before I could respond. In the meantime I got a text from Les, checking in, making sure I wasn't wallowing or something else equally pathetic along those lines _. I am not wallowing_. I told her I was "dealing". She wanted to know if I needed reinforcements for the night, but I told her I was too tired, and decided on staying in for the night.

Thirty minutes later I still hadn't heard back from my mom, but there was a knock at my door. I had no idea who would it would be, but a glance through the peep hole had me looking at a pizza delivery guy. I smiled. Mom knows me well. I grabbed my wallet and opened the door, but I was informed that it had already been paid for by a Lorelei Gilmore. The same for the Chinese delivery that showed up five minutes later and the Indian take-out that quickly followed. _She was really on top of this._

Practically as soon as I closed the door, on my way back to the coffee table with the last round of take-out, my phone was ringing with Mom finally calling me back.

"You really called in the cavalry, huh?"

"Believe it or not, it was Luke's idea. He figured that even long distance we could have some of our traditional mother daughter time."

"Wow. You've trained him well."

"Yea, I guess he's a keeper... and to make it _really_ authentic, I took the liberty of ordering a matching spread for me, sans Indian food of course. I got Landon settled with Luke at the Diner, so now you have my full attention."

"Alright, well, I stuck to my word yesterday and avoided watching the press conference. Leslie still insisted that we go out last night, and it started out well, a good distraction, but…"

I filled her in on what transpired at the end of the night, and about the coffee delivery this morning.

"Who does he think he is, Logan Gatsby trying to impress Rory Buchanan into coming back into his life?"

"I would hardly call running into each other, and sending a cup of coffee to building an empire and an empty, extravagant life in an ill-fated attempt to woo a married woman."

"I dunno, Ror… He has the makings of an empire, and how much do you really know about his life these days?"

"Mom really, _give it a rest_. I don't know anything about his life. That's the point. We have gone four years without even speaking, why should he assume he gets to try and be a part of my life now?"

"Well, he maybe he's not. Maybe he was just trying to be nice after an awkward encounter. He was raised in the world of propriety and manners, after all."

"I hope that's all it is. I'm not sure I could handle anything else…"

"You should give yourself more credit, Hun. You're not the same person you were back then. You've grown a lot over the last few years. You're a big, bad city girl now. You're stronger than you think."

 _I'm not sure that's the case when it comes to Logan…_ "Okay."

"Hey, you're never going to guess what's on TV."

"You've been channel surfing this whole time? What happened to giving your undivided attention?"

"I swear it didn't detract from my listening abilities. Plus, it's Friday night and we each have mountains of junk food in front of us. It's just like old times… plus about 140 miles… a movie was the only thing we were missing."

I rolled my eyes. _Only my mother…"_ Alright, what did you find?"

"Grease 2!" I could almost hear her smiling through the phone at the thought of watching a so bad its good movie.

"What channel?"

We stayed on the phone the whole movie, imputing our usual banter and commentary. It did feel like old times, temporarily care-free and happy. After we hung up I tried to hang on to that feeling, and I was actually feeling a little better thinking about what she had said about me not being the same person I was when he left, being stronger.

I went to bed that night with a new sense of commitment. I was going to lock that little box back up, I had done it before, and I couldn't let the fact that we were now in the same city change that; I was stronger than that _. I think._ Besides, I have work to focus on. I think that new assignment I started today was really promising. It was a little outside the wheelhouse of the Features column at The Post, more political than Gerry would probably like, but that's always what I was really interested in writing about. Leslie is definitely going to give me a bad time about going into the office on a Saturday, but I have a couple of leads I want to follow up on, and I have a feeling keeping my mind occupied will serve me well.

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Because it's the first Monday back from the holidays, I give you a bonus chapter for the week! Who knows, I may end up releasing most of them just because I'm so darn excited by the feedback I've been getting! Love you all! Follow, Comment, and Favorite! xxoo


	4. Chapter 4: In the Office on a Saturday

I sat at my desk in the office the next morning with a fresh up of coffee and some research in front of me. I had sent out feelers to a couple of potential contacts, trying to get statements about the recent uprisings in Saudi Arabia. The only problem that I continued to be concerned with was how Gerry was going respond to this piece. The more I worked on it the more it was becoming true blue reporting, rather than the feature story on the latest dignitary meeting that he had intended. Don't get me wrong, I like my job, but I do miss writing like this, like I had gotten to do on the campaign, and even at Yale. It had been too long since I've gotten engrossed in deep research like this.

First thing that morning I had gotten a text from Leslie, asking what I was up to today. I decided not to respond yet; it wouldn't be the first time that she has given me grief about working on a Saturday. Leslie was a good writer and she did her job well, but she always made it a priority to have a life outside of the office. Maybe it was all those years of living and working with Paris, but it didn't really matter to me what day of the week it was when I was working on something. I had spent a lot of the morning putting out calls and emails to potential sources, looking for some statements and extra information.

I sat back in my chair to reread what I had written so far, when my office phone rang. I was surprised that I might already hear back from one of my contacts, especially on the weekend, but I answered…

"Rory Gilmore"

"Well imagine that, Gilmore in the office on a Saturday."

I froze, receiver to my ear. _I had to be dreaming again._ I must have fallen asleep at my desk and was re-experiencing the dream I had the other night.

"Ace?"

 _Nope, this was actually happening._ I had no idea what to say.

"Logan… uh… this is, um… a surprise…"

 _Get it together, Gilmore._ If you can report on unrest in the Middle East, you can put together a sentence. I took a deep breath…

"Sorry, I just wasn't expecting to hear from you." _Ever, really._

"Yea, well, I wanted to make sure you got that coffee I sent over yesterday."

"Yes, I did…" I flashed back to the thud it had made when I dropped it in the trash can. "I suppose a 'thank you' is in order."

 _Getting there…_ at least I'm conveying complete thoughts.

"Right… well, I'm glad you got it."

Now that I had calmed down a little, I could hear a slight uneasiness in his voice, very un-Logan like. Oddly, it gave me a little confidence boost… _I have to ask._

"How did you know where to find me?"

"I read the papers."

"Oh… Right..." _Idiot_. I had been so wrapped up in emotion the last couple of days that the logical conclusion had entirely evaded me.

He laughed a little, "Oh c'mon, Ace. You really don't think I've followed your writing? You put out some great stuff on the campaign, and now The Post. You've done well."

He was back… confident, complimentary, truly Logan. _And he had followed me_. I ignored what might have been butterflies in my stomach.

"Well… you haven't done so bad yourself, Huntzberger."

 _Well played._ I can do this. If I learned anything from my mother besides how to order take-out, it was the art of bantering.

"Yea, I suppose you could say that." I could practically see him smirking on the other side of the line.

There was a pause in the conversation… _Was the coffee really why he had called?_ Keep it casual… small talk.

"So… New York, huh?"

"New York."

 _Well that failed…_ Why am I suddenly the one trying to make something out of this conversation? He was the one that called me. And why can't I come up with anything to talk about? I was starting to panic again.

"Well, I guess I should have wished you a happy birthday the other night…" _I brought up the other night?_ So much for small talk.

He gave a little laugh. "Thanks, but you know me and birthdays… not really one for much fuss."

"You seemed to be having a good time."

"Yea, we were… mostly just catching up with some old friends, you know…"

He trailed off… Now I really wasn't sure where to go with the conversation.

"Listen, Rory… About that night…"

 _Uh oh_.

"I… I really didn't mean to ambush you like that."

 _Ambush me?_ I thought back… _Yep_... I had pretty much been a deer in the headlights.

"Yea, it was pretty… unexpected." _Good_ …Unexpected was safe… understatement of the century, but safe.

There was another pause before he spoke again…

"You know… I tried to call you when I knew when I was coming to the city."

 _What?!_ That was beyond unexpected… I was blindsided.

"You did?"

"Yea… I guess you changed your number, though. That's why I tried your office today… I figured at least I could leave a message, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find you working."

I had changed my number. A few months ago I got a new phone and decided I should finally switch to a New York area code. Of all the people that I figured I would need to update about a new number, he wasn't one of them.

I really didn't know what to say to him. Why would he call me now, even if he was coming to the city? Before I could manage a response, he continued.

"Have lunch with me."

 _The hits just keep on coming._ Suddenly, I instead of surprised I was feeling upset… angry even. Four years of nothing, and he calls me now? My life is _good_. I have a good job; I have my family and friends. I don't need it to be turned upside down. And I _hate_ the way he made it a statement rather than a question, as if he just expected me to agree.

"Why?" There was a little more edge to my voice than I had intended.

There was a long pause, it felt like minutes passed before he replied.

"I… I want to…" _Well this was different…_ I guess it was my turn to surprise him. It was a rare occasion for Logan to not know what to say.

He cleared his voice before he continued, "Clear the air."

 _Clear the air?_ He stumbled his way through the first half of that sentence to end it with _clear the air_? Considering the resentment I had felt towards him only moments before, I couldn't explain why I felt disappointed by his answer.

"Rory, please?"

I realized I hadn't said anything, but now hearing him say 'please' was not helping me come up with a response. If all he wanted was to clear the air, why would he plead?

"Logan…" I'm not even sure what I was going to say when I started, but it didn't matter.

He cut me off and had once again regained his composure, "Look, you don't have to answer me now. I'll be back at McConnell's tomorrow, one o'clock. If you don't show up, I guess I understand… deserve it even. But I really hope I see you."

And just like that, the line went dead. My head was spinning. The phone call itself had been hard enough, let alone the prospect of having a face to face conversation after all this time. I had no idea what to do.

I looked at my computer screen and at the stacks of research in front of me. There was no way I was going to be able to focus on all of this anymore today, not after that roller coaster of a conversation. I started to organized it so I would be able to pick up where I left off when I came in on Monday morning, when I got another text from Leslie, _"I know you're at the office. Don't make me come drag you out of there."_

I replied to her text, admitting that I had been in the office, but dragging me out wasn't necessary. I told her to meet me downstairs and we could grab some coffee. Fifteen minutes later, when I was in the elevator on my way downstairs I decided not to tell her about the phone call, not yet at least.

I just needed more time to process this before I would be ready to fill her in. I know she was only trying to protect me the other night, but by the way she dragged me out of there I had a pretty good idea of what she would have to say about this. In the three years that we have been friends, from the beginning we had vowed to leave our past in the past. We made efforts to move on… she had obviously been more successful that I have. Things between her and Ben had ended on such bad terms… it was different between me and Logan. I think she understood that, but still… He and I hadn't had a huge fight or lots of drama, not at the end at least… _he just left_. I had tried dating other guys when I got to New York, even had a few second dates, but it was never right _… It was never him_.

Instead, I decided to take her grief about working on a weekend, and fill her in on the article. She was surprisingly receptive… maybe she was just glad that I seemed to be focusing on something other than Logan. She even suggested that I should try to shop it around as a freelance piece if Gerry turned it down.

I honestly hadn't thought about it before, but it really wasn't a bad idea. Les said she still had some connections from her freelance days and might be able to get my article seen. We walked the six blocks from the coffee cart back to Leslie's apartment, it was cold even for February and clouds had rolled in over the city, but talking about the prospect of doing some freelance writing had the day looking up.

When we got inside, Les put some popcorn in the microwave and we flipped through the channels before landing on a movie… Breakfast at Tiffany's… a classic, and one of Leslie's favorites. Halfway through the movie she sat up, with a bright look in her eye.

"Let's be tourists tomorrow."

"What?" I know she wants me to get away from work but that seemed silly… _besides I haven't decided whether or not I already have plans_.

"You know, walk around the city… Time Square, Central Park, go shopping… well I just got my Visa bill so maybe just window shopping…"

I looked at her incredulously, and then I looked out the window. _Bad weather_ … a good excuse to avoid committing.

"Look outside, Leslie. It's probably going to be pouring rain by tomorrow."

"So? We have boots and umbrellas. Since when does bad weather deter New Yorkers? What else do you already have going on, on a Sunday?"

I took a deep breath, "Well…"

She looked at me expectantly, so I continued, now avoiding her gaze, speaking so quickly it was almost one long word, "Logan called me at the office today. He wants me to meet him for lunch tomorrow."

I prepared myself for what I expected to be a long list of reasons why I shouldn't go, but when she didn't say anything I turned back to her.

She sighed and put her arm around me. "I think you need to call Lorelei."

I looked at her and almost laughed. "Who are you are you and what have you done with Leslie?"

"I know; I'm never this mature. But really Ror, I would love to tell you to forget it and blow him off, but I know it's not that easy. I've seen what a mess you've been the last few days, and you've told me about what happened between you guys, but I have only known _this_ Rory, and _that_ Logan. I wasn't there for Rory _and_ Logan. Your mom was."

All I could do in that moment was hug her. _She got it._ I should have given her more credit this morning.

"Besides, no matter what either one of us say, it's really your decision."

Leave it to Leslie to follow up a stroke of wisdom with a big dose of reality.

I looked at her with a pained expression. She gave me a half smile and put her hands on my shoulders.

"Go home, call your mom, make your lists, whatever you need to do… but you had better call me when you decide."

I gave her another hug before I bundled up and headed home. On the train I sent my mom a text, _"Have time to talk?"_ I knew Saturdays were busy at the Inn, but Leslie was right, she was the only one who could really give me advice here. Almost immediately I got a reply, _"On a scale of one to Chernobyl, how serious are we talking?"_ I replied simply with, _"Call me"_ figuring if I wasn't joking with her, she would get the hint.

* * *

** I do not own any characters or contents related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Because someone asked sooooo nicely, here's one more :). Keep the feedback coming! It inspires me! And to those of you playing spot the difference, so far most of them are pretty subtle... restructuring a sentence, changing a word or two, but I have dropped in a few more random references and will be fleshing out a couple of things in the future. Enjoy! xoxo


	5. Chapter 5: What Would You Do?

As I left the subway station my phone was ringing. I answered as I walked in the direction of my building.

I started off telling her about my article and what Leslie said about trying to sell it as a freelance piece, but right about the time I got to my door she interrupted me.

"Rory! I'm glad you're excited about what you're working on, but is this really what you needed to talk to me about so urgently?"

"Well, no… but you're always getting disappointed when I don't keep you up to date on what I'm up to…"

"Of course I want to know, but I also know what else been going on this week. I have a feeling this conversation is going to be more important that whatever Saudi Arabia has going on right now, so let's get on with it, you're killing me."

"Okay…" I was finally in my apartment so I started to tell her about the whole first part of the conversation with Logan, and she listened in silence, something she was definitely not known for.

I paused before I got to the part about him wanting to meet for lunch, but she still hadn't said a word.

"Mom? You there?"

"Yea, yea, just uh… wow. Even after the coffee incident, I wasn't expecting that."

"You're telling me… And that's only the half of it."

"What else could…"

"He asked, well more like _told_ , me to have lunch with him."

She processed for a second, "Well?"

"What do you mean ' _well_?'?" _Did she really think I had a simple answer?_

"What are you going to do?"

"What do you think I'm calling _you_ for?" _Here it comes_ … everything that had been going through my head that afternoon came spilling out… "I have _no_ idea what I'm going to do. I spent the whole conversation trying to figure out where he was coming from, and why he was calling me. First he's trying to make small talk, then out of nowhere he says wants to see me, but then it's only to 'clear the air'. And then… Then he says please? And that he would understand if I didn't want to? That he _deserved_ it if I don't show up? How am I supposed to tell what he's feeling? How can I decide to go if I don't even know what I'm going to be walking in to?"

"Wow! Slow down, kid. You're going to have to breathe at some point."

I took a deep breath. I had practically been shouting by the time she stopped me.

"It sounds like you're focusing a lot of all of this frantic energy on what _he_ wants."

"But…"

"Hun, he left it up to you. And even if he hadn't, it should be about what _you_ want."

I tried to gather my thoughts. I hadn't known what to say the other night; I barely made it through the phone call today… _But just knowing he's going to be there; the thought of seeing him in person_ ….

"What if I don't know what I want?"

"Well, if you're asking me, I think that if you were _sure_ you didn't want to see him, we wouldn't be having this conversation. If you were done with him, the answer would be easy, and what he wants wouldn't matter at all."

 _If I was done with him?_ I'm not sure I could ever really be done with him. _"_ What would you do?"

"I am _not_ going there. We both know what my track record was like before Luke, hell, even with Luke. Honey, I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but it has to be up to you. I understand what you're afraid of, and if you don't go, I wouldn't blame you. But… I don't know, honestly I'm surprised I'm even saying this… Maybe it's something you need. I'm sure it won't be easy, but maybe it will give you some closure, find some peace…"

It all made sense, everything that she said. _It wasn't fair that I was still so in love with him when we ended_...

"I just wish I knew what to expect out of it, if I do go."

"Rory, have you ever really known what to expect out of him?"

She was right again. I did not expect what was coming when he kidnapped me that weekend with the Life and Death Brigade. I expected him to bolt when I told him I couldn't handle a causal relationship, but he stayed. I certainly hadn't expected him to propose. Most of all, when we met I certainly didn't expect that I would fall so deeply in love with him.

By the time I got off the phone with my mom I was exhausted. My head hurt… _My heart hurt_. Everything that I had wrestled with for the past three days… _for the past four years_ … could be coming to a head in a matter of hours. If I didn't show up tomorrow, that would be it. It would be over… _But if I did_ …

I went to bed with everything that Leslie and my mom had said running through my mind. I was still having a hard time believing that Les hadn't been completely opposed to it from the get go… _maybe that said something right there_. And my mom had somehow managed to talk me down from the cliff of crazy that I had walked myself out onto… as much as it was still plaguing me, worrying about what he wanted shouldn't be the priority _. I am the priority_.

I woke up Sunday morning still unsure of what to do. As I brewed a pot of coffee I was starting to feel pathetic all over again, letting the life I had built for myself come to a screeching halt over some guy _… but Logan was anything but just 'some guy.'_ With my fresh cup of coffee, I sat down at the table, ready to make a final pro-con list, but when I took my first sip I suddenly had an epiphany…

 _All these years, I have been hurt and angry and depressed because he walked away. I may have said no, but I have been blaming him all this time because HE walked away. Now it was ME who was considering walking away?_

It suddenly became clear to me what he had meant about "deserving it" if I didn't show up. And what my mom had said about finding closure… This is what I had wanted years ago, after he left it was all I had wanted. I may have been a different person then, but sitting here drinking my coffee I finally realized the answer I had been looking for. _Whether or no he deserved for me to talk to him, I deserved for him to talk to me._

With my new-found sense of self-worth I decided to jump in the shower before I could change my mind again. I still had no idea what his actual intentions were when he arranged this meeting, but the only way I was going to find out was to show up.

I got out of the shower and downed another cup of coffee before I called my mom. I didn't want to talk about it; I only wanted to let her know what I had decided.

"Well, all right then." Even without elaborating I knew that she thought I was making the right choice, and as frustrated as I had been with her ambiguous answers last night, I appreciated her more than ever for making me come to this conclusion on my own.

All she said before we hung up was, "I love you, kiddo."

"I know, Mom… Thanks." It was rare for my mom and me to have a short and sweet, no distractions conversation, but it was exactly what I needed.

As promised, I sent Leslie a text message to let her know the outcome of what I had thought would be a never ending debate. _"I'm going."_ I had a feeling that I wouldn't get off as easily with her as I had with my mom, and sure enough, my phone rang only a second later.

"Are you sure? You've absolutely decided? You're not going to back out at the last minute? What are you wearing?"

She finally paused long enough for me to respond, "Yes, yes, no, and I have no idea."

"I think you should keep it casual… slightly sexy, but casual. You don't want to seem too eager, but you have to let him know what he has been missing out on."

"You gave me absolutely nothing yesterday, but _now_ you suddenly have all these opinions?"

"Honey, have I ever steered you wrong when it comes to clothes?"

Only one occasion crossed my mind, but I doubted she was going to suggest leopard print and cowboy boots again, so with a sigh, I relented, "What do you have in mind?"

"I'm coming over."

I'm not sure how she did it, but in half the time it usually takes her to get from her apartment to mine, she was crashing through my door, dripping water from her umbrella all over the floor. Sure enough, the dark clouds from yesterday had opened up and were drenching the city of New York. _I hope this isn't a bad omen._

"Alright, what have you got so far?" She looked at me as if I should have had choices ready for her to veto. It had taken me so long to come to a decision at all, that what I was going to wear had not even occurred to me until she brought it up.

She rolled her eyes at me when I shrugged my shoulders. "Go dry your hair; I'll take care of this." She gestured to the garment rack and set of drawers in the corner, and immediately set to tearing them apart. Apparently, this was a much more urgent matter than I had anticipated, so I followed instructions and proceeded to the bathroom. When I came out, I found three outfits lay out across my bed, complete with shoe selections. I immediately shot down a dress and cardigan combo, cute, but I would look ridiculous wearing that out in the rain. She agreed, insisting that it only made the cut because the color worked so well with my eyes. We finally settled on a combination of the last two outfits… layering the top from the first, with the sweater and dark jeans from the second. I zipped my knee length, brown leather boots over the legs of my jeans. I was comfortable, which, despite Leslie's protest, I had decided was most important.

I pulled on my coat, wrapped a scarf around my neck, and grabbed my purse. I was ready to pick up my umbrella and head out the door when Leslie asked, "Do we need to arrange an emergency phone call? Some urgent matter that happens to take you away from whatever you are going to call this lunch?"

I seriously considered it for a moment. Still unsure of what I was walking into, having a back-up plan might not be a bad idea, but I reconsidered. I was going to stand on my own two feet through this, and if that meant using them to walk out at some point, then so be it.

She and I left the apartment together and headed for the subway station. She was taking one train to get back to her apartment, and I was taking another to get to McConnell's. Before we parted ways she wrapped her arms around me, and assured me she would be there for me, no matter what. It was exactly what I needed.

My mind was totally blank as I rode the train. For once in my life, I was oddly okay with the fact that I did not know what was going to happen. I decided it was better that way, safer. I wouldn't set my heart one way or another.

I got off the train and rounded the ally towards the door to McConnell's. I stopped short when I came to the door; the same door he had been standing in when he had taken me so much by surprise the other night. I stood under my umbrella in the rain for just a second, before I took a deep breath to steady myself one last time.

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Disclaimer, I know I originally said I was going to post a couple of chapters a week... turns out I lied. It's more like a couple of chapters every couple of days. I can't help it; the feedback I've been getting is just too enthusiastic! If you read the original story, you know the deal with this chapter... Lots of build up to what we've all been waiting for, but some true (if I do say so myself) Rory moments: overthinking, over analyzing, etc...

Follow, Favorite, Comment... LOVE hearing your thoughts, especially from you first time readers! And I'm so very glad many of you are enjoying re-experiencing the story! Also, hope you're ready, because once again I'm too excited to only post one... xxoo


	6. Chapter 6: Very Don Draper of You

I shed my coat and scarf as I walked inside and looked around; I didn't see him. I looked at my watch; it was almost ten after one… of course I'm late. _He wouldn't have left already, would he?_

Not at the bar, not near the window, then I looked around the corner and in one of the booths sat a man, concentrating intently on the screen of the phone in his hands. I couldn't see his face, but the purposefully-messed blonde hair on his head left no question… _Logan_.

I took one more deep breath while I had the chance and walked toward him. I was practically standing right in front of him, but he hadn't yet noticed I was there. _How can a lunch be awkward before it has even begun?_ I had to say something…

"Busy day?"

He looked up, visibly startled. True to form, he quickly found his composure, "Well, I'm a busy man, every minute counts… I was supposed to be meeting someone at one." He glanced at his watch and back at me with a hint of a smile on his lips. "I was starting to think you were standing me up."

 _You're the one that said you would have deserved it._ I thought better of the comment, returned his smile and shrugged my shoulders, "Here I am."

"Are you going to sit?" He looked at me expectantly, and then held up his phone, "I'll be done in just a minute."

I nodded and slid into the booth across from him, watching him as he typed into his phone. He was still tan from California, he made the same face as he always did when he was concentrating, and he… _He was looking back at me._ He had picked up his head sooner than I expected, and a smirk spread across his face when he caught me staring at him. _I need a quick save…_

"Working on Sunday?"

He raised an eyebrow at me, "Says the girl who I caught in the office on a Saturday."

I stifled a smile. He always had an answer for everything. He had told me before that the fact that I challenged those answers is what first attracted him to me… _Why couldn't I find a witty retort this time?_

I was relieved to see that someone had approached the table to place a drink in front of Logan. Scotch neat, of course. Looking up, I saw that it had been Sam who set the drink down. Les and I had pretty much been regulars at McConnell's since we started working at The Post, and I had come to discover that Sam is to McConnell's as Luke is to the diner… It seemed as if he never left, and did pretty much everything. His official job was bartender, but he also tended to play host, wait tables, and occasionally fill in in the kitchen… a well -rounded employee.

"Hey Ror, can I get you anything?"

"Um…" I thought nothing of Sam referring to me by name, but Logan was looking at me quizzically. "Maybe just menus?"

"Sure thing… Just gimme a sec, looks like somebody just saddled up to the bar."

"Thanks, Sam."

"So, you come here often?" Logan mocked as Sam walked away.

"That sounded like a cheesy pick-up line…" I thought I was playing along, finally falling into a familiar repartee, so I was taken aback by his response.

"No… those would never work on you, Ace." His tone suggested he was serious, but his eyes were soft.

He just looked at me for a second. I didn't know what to say, _again_.

Thankfully Sam had shown up with the menus. _Thank God._ "Sam… I think I will take that drink, after all."

He nodded and quickly returned, haven shaken up a martini with a twist.

I noticed that Logan had watched this whole exchanged with his eyebrows raised, "Well… you two seem pretty chummy..." I was surprised to find that his tone was almost accusatory. _Wait, was he jealous?_

He eyes were locked on mine; waiting for me to respond to what hadn't really been a question. I shook my head, "No… no, Leslie and I are just in here a lot…" I couldn't explain why I suddenly felt the need to justify that, "…it's only a few blocks from the office."

"Leslie?" He answered his own question, "Your friend from the other night, the blonde…" he trailed off for a second before continuing, "Not a fan of mine, I take it?"

I bit my lip and I found myself to suddenly be focused very intently on tracing a water ring on the table. I knew he was talking about the way she had led me away the other night. "She just…" _Thinks you're a jackass for disappearing to California? Thinks I deserve better than you?_ I finally finished with, "…cares." It was the truth, just maybe not all of it.

Logan was visibly tense as he took a sip of his drink, and a rather uncomfortable silence had fallen between us.

I took a sip of my martini, hoping for another interruption, but Sam was occupied at the bar, and the rest of the place was pretty quiet.

As quickly as he had seemed to let his guard down, he regained his composure. He cleared his throat, sat up straighter and picked up a menu. His voice was lighter, but still not quite his usual, confident tone, "So, you're the regular… What's good here?"

I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't respond right away… _Why it would matter to him if Leslie didn't like him? Had I imagined his jealousy toward Sam? How could he change gears so quickly?_

"Ace?"

I snapped back to attention. None of our interaction since we had literally run into each other had been normal, not for us… but hearing him call me Ace was like a flash of who we used to be.

"What? Oh. Um… the burgers are good. Good fries."

"Well that one I could have guessed for myself."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I would never expect you to frequent a place with sub-par French fries… It's been a long time, Ace, but some things never change."

He had caught _himself_ off guard that time. His eyes gave him away… He must not have meant to say that last part out loud. He quickly took the last swig of his scotch, and looked around. "So, is your friend coming back around any time soon?"

Right on cue, Sam appeared at the table to take our order, once again saving us from yet another awkward silence. He looked at me first, "Ror?" and then at Logan, "Friend of Ror? Did we make decisions?"

Logan spoke to him, but was looking directly at me, "Well, I think _Ror_ and I will have a couple of house burgers… extra fries." The way he emphasized 'Ror' went unnoticed by Sam, but it was clear to me that he had been mocking him; _I definitely had not imagined that one._ There was nothing going on between me and Sam, but even if there was, Logan would have no right to be jealous about it.

Before Sam walked away he asked if we wanted another round. I still had half of my martini in front of me, but Logan's glass was empty. We simultaneously answered; he with a "Yes" and I with a "No".

Unclear of what we wanted from him, Sam waited for clarification. Logan's eyes were still trained on me, and he flashed a smirk before he replied, "Another Macallan's, and a club soda." This time he was clearly making it a point to prove that he knew me well.

On my way here I had come to terms with not knowing what to expect, but the knot that was forming in the pit of my stomach let me know that I was not ready to address all that we had been just yet. Deciding that the present was a safer topic than the past, I tried to pick up a conversation.

"So, are you getting settled in the city?"

His smile from a second ago faded fast, and he shook his head, "Still kind of living out of a suitcase..."

 _Is he going to elaborate?_ After a second it was clear that he was not… "But you must be doing well with your company expanding and all?"

This time he responded with a nod, rather than a shake of his head, "Yea, bigger and… well, you know…"

He looked down into his glass, again showing no signs of go into detail.

 _What is with the vague answers?_ _And why didn't he seem happy?_ His company just went transcontinental; the Logan Huntzberger I knew would be reveling in his success. Up to this point I had still been optimistic about how this lunch was going to go… it was nervous and awkward, but up till now it hadn't been painful, but at this rate it would be going downhill, fast. _Change the subject..._

"How's Honor?"

I was relieved that he looked up at the mention of his sister. "She's good. She and Josh are upstate, out of Hartford, but still pretty much living that life."

I was glad that she was in his life, being pretty much his only ally he had in his family.

"And Lorelei?" He was participating in polite conversation... _A step in the right direction_.

"She's still Lorelei…" I couldn't help but smile thinking about my mother and her antics. "And I have a brother!"

"What?" When I saw his rightfully surprised expression, it occurred to me how much had happened since we had stopped being us… _How much he had missed._ Relieved to finally have something to talk about, I continued rather enthusiastically, "Yea, Landon… he's two. Much to Emily's disappointment, my mom and Luke reconciled right after I left for the campaign. They finally got over their stubbornness, got married and…"

I stopped dead in the middle of my sentence and looked away from him. _One step forward, two steps back_ … I should have kept talking, tried to glaze over it, but I felt a pang of guilt mentioning marriage in front of Logan. I don't know why… I questioned my decision to say no for a long time… but now, having experienced things, living in New York, having a career, I knew I had been right. I shouldn't feel guilty about not being ready to settle down at twenty-two, _but right now, I did_.

"...they're really happy." I finally finished.

"That's great. Good for them." I knew he meant it, but my guilt crept up again when I looked up to see that the smile on his face was half-hearted at best.

As Sam placed our fresh drinks on the table, I realized that I was even more unsure of where this was going now than I had been before I sat down. He had zig-zagged from joking to serious. In round about ways, he had acknowledged what we once were, but was clearly uncomfortable when I accidentally stumbled into that territory. He didn't seem to want to go into detail about his own life…

His phone buzzed next to him on the table; he checked the screen, and took a drink from his glass. "I should take this, do you mind?"

I shook my head; he grabbed his phone and answered as he got up from the table. Honestly, I was relieved. I needed to breathe and try to come up with a plan that wouldn't compound the uncomfortableness of the situation. Something neutral…

He seemed to come out of nowhere when he returned to his seat and put his phone down again.

"Work?" Since it had come up naturally, maybe work would be a safe topic now…

He exhaled, "Yea…" and took another swig of scotch. _Apparently I was wrong…_

"Well this is very Don Draper of you… taking calls and day drinking…"

He actually smiled this time as he nodded. "I told you Ace, I'm a busy man."

I finally relaxed a little… I was relieved to find that the actual Logan was hidden in there somewhere.

Our meal finally arrived, delivered by a waitress, not Sam… _Good_. We did not need to open that bizarre can of worms again.

We ate in relative silence for a little while, only broken up by Logan's approval of my burger recommendation. By the time we had finished, I was starting to wonder if we would ever start talking again. I finally drank the last of my martini, and as I put the empty glass down I noticed that he was looking… more like watching me.

"Your hair is longer."

Instinctively, I ran my hand through my hair, a little surprised by his acute observation. "Yea… When I came to the city… I hadn't really found a good place to get it cut, so I let it grow out a little… but I kind of liked it, so…" I was rambling like a teenager.

"It looks good. It suits you."

I managed a smile that I hoped would pass for a thank you, and looked away.

He laughed… _maybe the scotch was finally loosening him up._ "You never were good at taking a compliment, Ace…" I continued to avoid his eyes, trying not to blush. "…I mean it. You look good… The city agrees with you." I finally looked up at him… he was being genuine, even sporting a real smile.

"Well… thanks... I tend to agree with it as well." _Are we finally on track for a real conversation?_

"How is The Post treating you?" I was curious about why he would bring up my work, given his reluctance to discuss his own, but I wasn't going to risk derailing our interaction now.

"It's going pretty well…" I told him about starting as low woman on the totem-pole at The Post after the campaign. I told him about talking my way into that first big article, and how I was up to pretty regular bylines, though from what he said yesterday about following my writing, he must have already known that. I even told him what I had only just decided myself, about looking into doing freelance writing.

He was smiling again, another real, honest smile… _It was good to see him smile_. "That's great, Ace. I'm proud of you."

I couldn't help but smile back. I was having another flashback feeling, to the old us… _when I was actually his girl to be proud of_.

"You should be proud of yourself too, you know. They could do Behind the Music on you… _Yale Slacker to Major Success_ … you know, without the music." I gestured as if I was seeing the words on a marquee… I was hoping to finally get something out of him, or maybe even a laugh, but I settled for the smile that played along his face. _Talk about not being able to take a compliment._

We just sat there in silence for a while again… he was clearly still not interested in talking about his own work, but for the life of me I couldn't understand why. In all of the interviews and press releases I had read, he always spoke proudly and passionately about his company. And it had only grown over the years, surpassing practically every expectation that the industry had laid out. Even Mitchum had to be proud of him by this point… _Mitchum_.

 _How could this not have occurred to me before?_ Expanding to New York meant great things for the company, but for Logan it meant being back near his father. Suddenly I had gone from confused about Logan, to worried about him.

"Are you okay?"

He was surprised by my question… _I guess it was a little sudden_. He cleared his throat again before slapping on a smile and replying, "Yea. Why wouldn't I be?"

 _He had been right before, some things never change_. He may have matured professionally, but deep down he was the same old Logan. He had always used his charm and good looks as a convincing disguise for his insecurities. I was on the short list of people who had ever seen through it, a list that I imagine has only gotten shorter as his accomplishments have grown.

"I don't know, you just…" I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with that, but his phone rang again before I could continue.

"Hey, it's getting late and I need to take this…" It was his not so subtle hint that our 'clear-the-air' lunch was over. _Did he suspect that I was finally on to him?_ He pulled out his wallet and threw some cash on the table as he stood up.

"Logan…" I half scolded him for putting out more than enough to cover the whole bill.

He waved me off. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you around, Ace." And just like that, he grabbed his coat from the booth and answered his phone as he walked away.

I was stuck for a second, almost dumbfounded. This was all his idea; he wanted to meet, to talk. And just when things might have gotten serious he walked away… _A habit of his._ I picked up all of my belongings, waved to Sam as I headed out the door.

Over the course of lunch I had heard the rain subside, but now that I was standing in the ally I found that it was back in full force. I managed to open my umbrella before getting too soaked, and made my way to the street.

I turned left towards the subway station, when I heard my name, "Rory!" I turned around. It was Logan, standing in the rain, in front of the open door of a black town car. He shouted over the rain, "I'm sorry!"

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Disclosure, I really didn't change much in this or the next chapter because (not to toot my own horn) even after re-reading it I really liked what I already had. Me being me, I have to leave new readers hanging for a _little_ while before I post the next update. (Technically you could go look at the older story, but what fun would that be?) I do love a good cliff hanger!

As always, Follow, Favorite, and Comment... I'm pretty blown away by the number of follows this story has already, especially given the fact that it's an update to one I already published. I'm very grateful, and very flattered. Love hearing from you! xxoo


	7. Chapter 7: Cleared the Air

_Never let it be said that Logan Huntzberger is a subtle man._

In college, he threw outrageous parties, had loud friends, and he and his Life and Death Brigade cohorts In-Omnia-Paratus'd their way through unbelievable, even stupid stunts. When we were together, he was famous for grand gestures and lavish displays of affection. And now, here he was, after making a hasty exit from what was supposed to be a friendly lunch, shouting to me in the pouring rain.

"I'm sorry!" He shouted again as he walked closer. When he was standing right in front of me, drenched by the rain, he repeated it for a third time, no longer shouting.

If I had been shocked by his abrupt departure from the bar, I had no idea what I was right now, but I pulled myself together enough to hold my umbrella out to cover us both.

"I shouldn't have left."

"You're a busy man Logan, you said it yourself. Forget about it…" I was almost laughing as I said it… sure I was a little irritated by the way he left, but this was really unnecessary.

"Rory… I…" _Why is he so worried about walking out on lunch_? I tried to read his face, but standing under the umbrella, closer than I had been to him in years, I could only focus on his eyes… His brow was furrowed, he looked… _pained_.

"…I'm not talking about now… I mean… You… Your graduation… _Us_ … I shouldn't have left. I'm sorry."

I was stunned. I was beyond stunned _._ _I wasn't even sure I was breathing._ Everything around me froze… for all I knew, I could have been standing there in utter disbelief for hours.

This was as close to an out of body experience as I had ever come. I was standing inches away from the man who I had loved with all my heart… _maybe still loved_ … The man who had proposed to me and then disappeared from my life, without so much as a phone call. After four years of _nothing_ he shows up and tells me he's _sorry_? What am I supposed to say to that?

"You're _sorry_?" I heard the bite in my voice, and I could see the surprise in his face, but for once I was not apologizing for it. Why shouldn't I be upset? I was a mess when he left, even long after he was gone. I spent a year agonizing over the life I thought I threw away when I said no. Now, when I've finally made a life for myself, now that I'm finally confident that I had made the right decision all those years ago, _now_ he waltzes in to pull the proverbial rug out from under me?

"Ace, I was wrong to leave, I was wrong not to call you. I was wrong about all of it. I should have fought for you."

I felt tears begin to run down my cheeks. He lifted his hand to wipe them away but I flinched when touched me. He pulled his hand back quickly. _He looked hurt._ I was feeling a million things at the same time. _He was saying everything I had wanted to hear from him since the minute he walked away._ If this were a movie, it would have been the fairy tale happy ending… reunited with the long-lost love of my life; he would leaned down and kissed me in the rain, and I would fall into his arms. But this isn't a movie. _This is my life._

"Logan…" My voice was softer than before, but in my heart I knew that what I was going to say wasn't what he wanted to hear. He wanted the movie, but I couldn't just forget everything that I have gone through. As I stood there I finally felt what my mother had told me… I wasn't the girl who could be won over by some silly skit in the middle of a lecture. I was a stronger person now. He hadn't fought for us, so I had to fight for myself.

"…It's not that easy. A lot has changed."

"Please, Ace…"

"I'm not the same person I was four years ago…"

"Neither am I! That's the point, Rory. When you turned me down, all I could see was what you were saying no to… the life that I imagined. I was selfish. You saw the big picture, and I was too blinded by my own bruised ego to be able to look that far. You were the _only_ person that I had ever imagined a life with, and when you didn't want it…"

"I _never_ said I didn't want it! I just… I wasn't ready for it!"

We were both shouting now. It was raining even harder, but between the yelling and the gesticulating the umbrella was useless. We were entirely exposed to the elements, physically and emotionally.

"I know that now, Rory. I knew it a long time ago. I knew it as soon as I saw your first byline on the campaign. I was just too stubborn and stupid to do anything about it."

"What about all of the time since then, Logan? It has been four years since…"

"I couldn't do it, Ace!"

"Couldn't do what, Logan? _Pick up a phone_?" Even I was surprised by how hostile I was coming off, but I couldn't help it. This is the fight we should have had when he left. All of this had been bottled… well, _boxed_ up for years. There was no going back now.

He shot back angrily, "You know the phone works both ways!"

Now I was really upset, _I could not let him turn this around on me._ I said no, but his turning his back on everything we had was not my fault.

" _You_ were the one that walked away, Logan! I _told_ you I wanted us to try to and make it work. I _wanted_ it to work. But _you_ are the one that made it all or nothing. _You_ chose nothing. And I will _not_ apologize for wanting a chance at what I worked my whole life to get."

I couldn't believe that all of that had just come from my mouth. Tears were still running down my face and I was having a hard time controlling my breathing. Despite the cold, wet weather, my face was hot. I was waiting for Logan to take his next shot, but it didn't come. Over the course of our argument he had gone from apologetic to passionate to angry, but he wasn't angry any more. He looked… _defeated_.

"I don't want you to." He was done yelling. He wasn't even looking at me anymore; his eyes had dropped to the ground.

 _This is not what I wanted_. I needed to say everything that I had, to finally get it off of my chest, but I did not want this. I had seen Logan at some of his lowest points, but I never wanted to be the cause of one. I lowered my head, trying to catch his gaze.

"I had no right to make you choose. That is why I couldn't bring myself to call you. Not after what you did for me."

"Logan, I didn't…"

"You did." He finally raised his head to meet my eyes. "You did _everything_. What you said in there…" he pointed back to the bar, "about me being a slacker turned success story? _You_ did that."

I felt my chest tighten as he spoke. "You are the one who made all of it happen, Logan."

"No, Rory. My dad spent my whole life trying to turn me into something, but _you_ are the one that changed things. You challenged me; you wanted me to be better. Going out on my own, making that first deal in California, this whole company, _none_ of it would have happened without you."

The rain had stopped, but my head was still swimming. The sincerity of his voice was breaking my heart all over again. I wanted him to stop, but he kept going.

"How could I face you knowing that I had tried to keep you from all of your potential, when I knew that you were the only reason that I had any potential at all?"

"I…" I didn't know what to say. All these years I had imagined him being hurt or angry, even hating me for saying no, but _ashamed_? I just stood there.

"I tried, Ace. When we finalized plans to come to New York, you were the first thing I thought of. That's why I tried to call you. I wanted you to know, I wanted to be the one to tell you. When I found out you changed your number, that you had moved on…"

" _Moved on_? Logan…" I didn't even know where to begin. "I was a mess when you left. The whole time I was on the campaign, I cried myself to sleep. Coming to New York was supposed to be my chance for a fresh start. I _tried_ to move on; I tried to pack you up into a little, tiny box and lock you away… I thought it was the only way I could try to move forward with my life. And now that you're here…" There was no denying it anymore, my heart still belonged to Logan Huntzberger, but my head was more cautious.

He hated that he had hurt me, even more than in what he had said, I could see it in his eyes. He started to say something, but I stopped him. "When I saw you the other night, that little box shattered. I have been a wreck trying to figure out what to do and what to say… trying to figure out if I could handle seeing you today… and now all of this… I just don't know if…"

"Rory, please…"

"Logan, I am trying to be honest here…" I really was, with him _and_ myself. "I just don't know if this is a good idea… I don't even know what _this_ is. We've both made mistakes, and we've both been hurt. I think it's pretty clear that it has been hard on both of us… Maybe it would be better if we just…" I was just so exhausted and overwhelmed; I needed to process, I needed to sleep. I needed time. I started to back away, but he grasped my hand.

"I am not walking away from you. Not again."

Even after everything that had just happened, everything he had said, I was surprised by it. I looked down at his hand around mine, and then back into his eyes. He meant it, I knew… I had no idea what it would mean for me, _or for us_ , but I knew that he meant it. We just stood there for what seemed like forever, his hand holding mine. At the end of it all, the only thing I could come up with was, "Okay."

When he finally let go of my hand, I wasn't sure what to do. I was still nervous about all of it. He took a few steps back from me before he smiled, "I'll see you around, Ace."

I watched him get into the town car, and when it pulled away I noticed that the clouds had begun to dissipate. For the first time in days I laughed. I couldn't help it… We had literally _cleared the air_.

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Like I said before, I didn't change much... I hope you guys still like it as much as I do! Enjoy! xoxo


	8. Chapter 8: Extra Heads of Hydra

I woke up the next morning before my alarm went off. _Had yesterday really happened?_ I thought about everything that we had said to each other… Logan saying he was _sorry_... I just lay there staring at the ceiling, replaying bits of our argument again and again until my alarm finally interrupted my train of thought.

It was when I finally sat up that I realized that the rest of the world was still out there, and Mom and Les were probably about ready to strangle me. I had thought about calling them when I got home yesterday, but I was so drained and still in complete disbelief from the confrontation. I knew they were both waiting to hear from me, but instead I had crawled into bed and fallen asleep almost instantly. I guess _clearing the air_ had actually done _some_ good, because I hadn't slept that well in a week.

Sure enough, I picked my phone up to see that I had multiple missed calls from each of them, text messages wondering if I was alright, and to my surprise, a voicemail from Emily Gilmore. Had Mom told her that I was meeting Logan? _No… that was ridiculous_. When she married my dad, she let my grandparents know by leaving a message on their answering machine… she would have laughed at me for even thinking that she had included her own mother. She hadn't even really told Luke yet.

 _Luke_. He knew something was going on with me, but I was glad that Mom had withheld the details. He hadn't liked Logan from the start, and just when he was warming up to him, he had left. I can only imagine what his reaction will be when he finds out that we… _well, I don't really know what_ , but whatever it is, it's not going to be pretty.

I figured the voice mail from my grandmother would be the quickest to get through before I had to get ready for work, so I skipped through the barrage of " _What's going on? Are you okay? Do I need to take out a hit on him?"_ messages that preceded it.

" _Rory, this is your grandmother calling… You know the person who paid for you to attend Yale so that you could get your big job in the city, only to have you forget about me…_ " Always with the dramatics… _"Anyway, a little bird told me that you would be joining us for Friday night dinner this week, and since you making an appearance has become somewhat of a special occasion, I thought I'd ask if you had any requests for dinner. I hope you can return your calls in a more timely fashion than your mother. See you Friday!"_

I had almost forgotten that I had promised my mom I would be coming to Friday night dinner. Well, now that Emily knew, there was no getting out of it. I made a mental note to call her back later in the day as I poured myself a cup of coffee.

For the first time in practically a week I was able to come close to thinking clearly. I knew he was sorry, and that he wanted… _something_ , but I wasn't quite ready to figure out the _something_ yet. I needed to use all my brain power to get some work done this week, especially if I was going to have to leave early on Friday to get to Hartford on time for dinner.

I got ready for work and headed to the office. As I was waiting for my drink at the coffee cart outside, I could hear the sound of heels hurriedly approaching. I knew it was Les and I knew she would be demanding an explanation.

" _Gilmore_!"

I turn to her with a sheepish look on my face.

For anyone who didn't know Leslie, her pink lip gloss and the blonde ponytail bouncing behind her might detract from the infuriated look on her face. I _do_ know her, so I know that when she's upset, that ponytail may as well be the extra heads of Hydra. "Don't you give me that look! What the _hell_ happened yesterday? Where were you last night?" She paused and for a second her look shifted from one of forceful inquiry to one of incredulity. Her eyes got wide, " _Oh my God! Did you sleep with him?"_

" _No_!" God no; that would have been… I was momentarily distracted by a flash back to what that _could_ have been and… _No, that is not something I need to think about right now_. I shook my head and tried to dog paddle my way out of hot water. "No… I just crashed when I got home. Yesterday was… intense."

" _Intense_? Are you going to elaborate on that at all, or continue to leave me hanging?"

My mom was going to kill me for not filling her in first, but Leslie was not going to let up until she got it out of me. As we walked inside I filled her in on the awkward lunch, and his abrupt departure. When we got to the elevator, we entered but were not alone, a couple of guys who must have worked in offices above ours stood in front of us, so I continued in a hushed tone.

I told her about how he had stood there in the rain and yelled to me, and about his sudden outpouring of confessions and apologies.

" _What?!_ "

She had burst out loud enough that the gentlemen that we were sharing the elevator with glanced back at us, before politely pretending to not have heard. _I glared at Leslie._

"If you can't keep it together, I won't finish my story."

She rolled her eyes, but as we slid between Elevator Guys onto our floor, she relented, "Fine."

We went straight to the break room and sat at the table. I filled her in on what he had said when we finished yelling at each other, about how he credited me with all of his success, and finally…

"He said he wasn't going to walk away again."

I looked at Les, expecting another outburst, but her jaw was practically on the table, gaping at that last line.

"What did you say?"

I scrunched up my face; I wasn't sure how she would react to my answer, which now that I was going to say it out loud again seemed kind of inadequate compared to his sudden pledge. "Okay."

She continued to stare at me, "Okay, what?"

"That's what I said, ' _Okay'_."

"After all of that, all you said was 'okay'?"

" _Gilmore_! Meeting!"

Gerry had poked his head into the break room, and I looked at the clock… We had a features staff meeting this morning. _I was off the hook for now_ , but I knew I would have to justify that simple answer to her. I didn't know if I could explain that somehow, it had been enough.

After the meeting, during which Gerry had asked for an update on my current piece, I headed to my desk for the first time that morning. I needed to check my email and inbox to see if I had gotten any replies from sources yet before I filled him in.

I scrolled through my email, happy to find a couple of responses. Nothing too specific, but it was a start. I had one voicemail from a correspondent who left his number so we could talk. _Promising_ … I reread through the draft I had started Saturday, before deciding to take it, and the rest of my research to Gerry. He had somebody else in his office, so I left it in his box, figuring I could shoot him an email to let him know to look for it.

In the time it took me to return to my desk another message had popped up in my inbox… It was from _LHuntzberger_. My heart beat quickened as I moved my cursor over it. _Get a grip._ _It's an email._ I took a breath and clicked on it.

" _Can I see you this week?"_

I guess he really wasn't kidding about 'seeing me around." I wasn't ready to respond yet. It wasn't that I didn't want to see him, I _had_ to see him. I had to figure out what he wanted in terms of _'not walking away'_ ; I just needed to step back from how dramatic yesterday had been. I opened a new browser window, but I kept the tab open for later.

I glanced over my shoulder, and thankfully I could see that Leslie was busy at her own desk. I could put off the rest of that conversation for a while longer, too. Before I dove back into my research, I sent a text message to my mom.

"Will call tonight. Text me after Landon is asleep." This was another conversation that I was going to need her full attention for.

With that out of the way I got back to my article. About forty minutes later, I was startled by Gerry dropping the stack of papers I had left for him on my desk. "I get what you're going for Gilmore, but it's too much. It's a good article, but you've got to trim it down to fit Features, or I can't run it."

 _I knew it's a good article_. This was what I was afraid of. I really didn't want to cut back on it… I wanted to keep going. I had to make a choice… do sacrifice my chance at a byline at The Post this week, or do I resign myself to threatening my own journalistic integrity and only report part of the story? _What if I came up with something else for him?_

I dug through the inbox on my desk for the other folder that had been there Saturday. "I've got another lead here… something about redistributing budgets for public works." I had purposefully chosen to follow the Saudi Arabia story when I got them, but this might placate Gerry.

"It's your choice Gilmore, but I need something by Wednesday or you lose your spot." He turned on his heel and walked away.

 _Great_ , another decision I have to make. I got up and walked over to Leslie's desk, but put my hand up in front of her before she could talk.

"This is a strictly work related conversation; previously discussed topics are not to be brought up."

"Fine. What can I do for you, Ms. Gilmore?"

"How serious were you about helping me push a freelance piece?"

She looked almost surprised, "Entirely serious. I can try to get you in touch with Dominic. He was my freelance editor before; he's got contacts all over the place."

 _More progress_. I could crank out the public works article in the next couple of days, and work on digging a little deeper on the Middle East situation.

"You're a gem, Les."

She gave her pony tail a dramatic flip, "I know." She turned back to what she had been working on, but by the end of the day I had an email from Dominic, interested in what I had to show him. _What would I do without her?_

Tonight I had to get back to Emily about dinner, call my mom, and I had one more email to answer… Logan's… I knew I had a deadline by Wednesday, and I was hoping to have something solid to show Dominic by the end of the week, which meant I would probably spend at least tomorrow and the next night working late. I had dinner at the grandparents Friday, and as long as I was going to be in that neck of the woods, I was planning on staying at least one night in Stars Hallow so I could spend some time with Landon and my family; maybe catch up with Lane and Sookie…

I found the tab that contained his email, clicked reply, and suddenly found myself in a minor panic about how to respond... He was standoffish about work, so I maybe I shouldn't bombard him with details… But if I tell him I'm busy does it sound like I'm playing hard to get? Am I supposed to be playing hard to get? I gave myself a mental smack and told myself to calm down. _It's an email._ Keep it casual…

" _The week is filling up fast. What did you have in mind?"_

Almost immediately he replied, _"Sounds like I'm not the only busy one here. Drinks?"_

Drinks? That could be dangerous, but maybe now that we've laid everything out on the table we could have a comfortable conversation. I had no idea what his schedule was like, but I gave it a shot… _"Thursday?"_

" _8 o'clock. East 26_ _th_ _and Park Ave. Looking forward to it, Ace."_

Well that was… _decisive_. Leave it to Logan to make plans that leave me nervous… I took a deep breath as I shut down my computer for the night. At least now that there were further plans to figure out what this was, I felt like I could finish my conversation with Leslie. She was already gone, but I called her cell.

" _Okay_." She was mocking me.

"Ha ha. I'm sorry I left you hanging this morning… I'm still trying to figure all this out, but yes I said 'Okay'.

"And that was it? How could that be it?"

"I don't know… There was no way I could just walk away from him after all of that. As angry and hurt as I have been all this time, I still…" I had admitted it to myself, but I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud.

"I know, Rory…" I exhaled, relieved that she wasn't going to push me. "So, what does this mean? What's next?"

"To be honest, I have no idea. He said he would see me around and left, but he emailed me today. We're having drinks Thursday."

"Well, look at you… A hot mess one day, and back together the next."

"We are _not_ back together." I hope _he_ didn't think we were back together. We had shown our cards, but there was still a lot of lost time between us.

"Okay." There was obviously doubt in her voice. "Just keep me posted."

I agreed to keep her in the loop and told her I would see her at work tomorrow. I had to call my grandmother back before she could have a fit, so once I was settled on the train I dialed her number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Grandma..."

"Rory! Richard! It's Rory!"

I could hear his stoic voice in the background, "You _asked_ her to call you Emily, who were you expecting, Mickey Mouse?" I had always appreciated his dry sense of humor, and how grounded he was, especially knowing how Emily could get.

"What is that noise? Is the connection bad?"

"No Grandma, it's just the train."

" _The train_?! Why on _earth_ would you ride the subway when you have a car?" I could hear the disgust in her voice; I should have expected as much.

"It's New York, Grandma." I thought about explaining that it was more expensive and stressful to drive and try to park around the city, than it was to rent a long term space for the car and utilize public transportation, but I knew the argument would be fruitless. "Anyway, you called about dinner?"

"Yes! We are so excited that you are joining us. I do wish we would see you more often..." She paused a moment, as if waiting for me to promise more frequent attendance. _I am not about to take that bait_. When I didn't respond she continued. "I thought maybe if you had your choice for dinner it might entice you to join us more regularly."

"I'm sure whatever you serve will be just fine... Look, Grandma, I have to go, I'm at my stop... I just wanted to check in." I was trying to escape this conversation with as subtle a guilt trip as possible.

"Well… If you're sure…"

"I am. See you Friday!"

Phew. At least that was out of the way. I picked up a sandwich and a coffee at the deli on the corner before I headed up to my apartment. I skimmed the paper while I ate and happened across an article speculating if and when Logan's company would go public… I shut the paper without reading it, though I suppose there is something to be said for consistency in life. I took a shower and was surprised that I was actually feeling almost relaxed. It had practically become a foreign feeling at this point.

I was contemplating going back to reading that article when I finally heard from my mom. Luke was putting Landon to bed, so she escaped into my old room so that we could talk.

I started from the very beginning – how I finally decided that I would go, picking out clothes with Leslie. She provided her commentary, and eventual approval of our choices, _of course_. I told her about seeing him from across the bar before I could bring myself to approach him, and our hesitant, almost painful small talk. I explained the weird, jealous vibe he had put off towards Sam, and how he wouldn't talk about work. She interjected once in a while throughout the conversation, but she let me continue; she got the details of the argument on the street, all the way through the 'okay'.

"You didn't tell him that you still love him?"

My mouth hung open. "Mom…"

"Rory, unless you plan on finding a Blue Fairy to fix the nose you were about to grow, don't try to tell me that you don't have feelings for him. Even if you won't admit it, you have been tearing yourself up over this boy for most of your adult life. I know you kid, you have always put your whole heart into who you have loved, and I don't think you ever got it back from Logan."

I was still defensive, "Please, Mom. I…"

"Maybe you should start calling me Geppetto, and you will henceforth be referred to as my little wooden boy…"

She was on a roll with this Pinocchio bit. I conceded, "I'm just not ready for…"

Thankfully she begged off, "Okay… So what now?"

The question of the day _…_ "I'm seeing meeting him Thursday for drinks." _Maybe I could have eased that one in a little smoother_.

"Really diving in head first, huh?"

"It's not like that… I don't know what it's like, exactly, but how am I going to figure it out if I start avoiding him again?"

"Alright… Just be careful, kiddo. We don't need a repeat of the Founder's Day Punch that left you on the bathroom floor."

"I know… trust me; I have no intention of reliving that one."

I was glad that we could move on from that conversation with a laugh. We made plans for the weekend before I turned in for the night. I had a long week ahead of me; between work, and Logan, and Friday night dinner, I was going to need all the rest I could get.

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

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	9. Chapter 9: Might Never Have Won You Over

As I got ready the next morning I went through my mental to-do list for the week: Hopefully I would finish the public works piece today so that I can run it past Gerry as soon as possible; I needed to focus my Saudi Arabia article, Dominic is expecting a copy of what I have by Thursday morning; we have a phone meeting planned for that afternoon, once he's had a chance to look it over; Thursday night was another event entirely.

 _Deep breath_. I was definitely less anxious about our impending outing than I had about the last, but seeing him after everything that happened at lunch was kind of only making me a different sort of nervous.

When I got off the train, Leslie was waiting for me outside the lobby of our building, two coffees in hand and a cheesy smile on her face. I was justifiably speculative about her cheery demeanor… it usually meant trouble.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing!" She shook her head and raised her hands in a failed attempt to deny any mischief making, but she couldn't contain herself. "Okay fine, I _may_ have looked into the address he gave you to meet him at."

"Leslie!" I had _not_ given her the address. "You are going to get in trouble hacking into people's email accounts one day."

"Not _people's_ … just yours. Come on Rory, I needed something to go on other than 'drinks'."

I pushed her through the double doors, toward the elevator. While I was not about to condone the method by which she came about the information, I couldn't help but be curious about what she had come up with. "Fine… What about it?"

"It's a _nice_ place, Ror… certainly not McConnell's. A swanky bar on Park Avenue? Are you sure this isn't a _reunited-and-it-feels-so-good_ date?" She sang as she spoke.

I had given this some thought last night… a lot of time had passed, and a lot of things had happened and changed since we were last together. I had finally admitted to myself that I still had feelings for Logan, but what I _really_ wanted was to not get hurt again. His outpouring had been passionate, and I knew he had meant every word; my heart fell for it hook, line, and sinker, but my head knew that this would be complicated, and the jury was still out. I could not, in my mother's words, go 'diving head first into this'.

 _Back to the issue at hand_ ; He had picked a venue that was way out the league of Leslie and my 'lowly reporters in the big city' lifestyle. I sighed, "No it's not, Les. That kind of place is just… _Logan_."

"Whatever you say, Andie. If it weren't for your history, this would all be very Pretty in Pink… a man of means pursuing a woman from the other side of the tracks."

I shook my head at her. I had straddled the worlds of grounded, small town upbringing and upper class society for a long, long time; _this was not a big deal_. Secretly, I was glad that she had looked. Even if stepping back into his world made me slightly more nervous about tonight, I had to admit… _it made me a little excited._

Once I got to my desk, I committed myself to work. I had too much going on this week to have any other choice. I completed a solid article on the proposed changes to the public works budget by lunch, and after agreeing to some of Gerry's editing suggestions, submitted it to copy. _One thing done_. Thankfully I had gotten more replies from my sources, some more usefully than others, so I was ready to do some damage on that article.

By nine o'clock Thursday morning I had messengered off my new draft, along with some further research that I had done, and at twelve-thirty I was at my desk waiting to hear from Dominic. I answered quickly when the phone rang.

"Rory Gilmore…"

"Rory, this is Dominic, your new freelance editor." _Was he being serious?_

"Excuse me?"

"Yea, I ready through the article, though I have to admit that I did not make it through the _very_ detailed research. It could use another once over, try to really drive home the finer points, but its good stuff. Definitely something I'd be interested in representing."

"Well, thank you; that's great to hear. I'm really happy that Leslie got me in touch with you."

"So am I; it's always good to find new, promising clients. She tells me you are a columnist at The Post with her?"

"I am, going on two years now."

"Good for you. Now, other than those few revisions I think that the only thing we need to do before it's ready to send out is take care of the legal crap. You'll have to sign a contract with my agency, nothing too scary, but we do take a small commission of what we get published..."

"Of course, that's totally understandable." I tried to hide the eagerness in my voice. I wanted to be professional, but this was very exciting.

"… and I assume that you've checked your contract with The Post? As long as there are no hang ups there I will send our contract for you to look over. Then we'll set up a time for you to come in and sign."

"Um… yea… sounds good."

"Great! I send your article back with it. Take a look at the notes, add what you will, try to get it all back to me ASAP. I'm feeling good about this one, Gilmore."

 _Check my contract with The Post?_ It hadn't occurred to me that that could be a problem. Before we had even hung up I had started to panic. What if there was some stipulation that barred me from writing for another publication. I knew I had a copy of it somewhere in my files at home, but I needed to find a copy _now_.

I found Sarah at the front desk to ask where I could find records of contracts. _Crap_. They were confidential. If I wanted a new copy of my own, I would have to go through my editor. I really wanted to have all the right information _before_ I broke the news to Gerry that I had kind of gone behind his back with the piece that he rejected.

I sent him an email requesting a copy of the contract, but he had been in meetings all afternoon. It was after six when he finally emerged from his office. I was looking at the clock, worried about being late to meet Logan. I still had to get home and change before turning around to head back uptown, but I needed to get this contract thing taken care of before I could sign with Dominic.

"Got your email, Gilmore. Come on in."

I sat down in front of his desk.

"Did my assistant get you that copy you wanted?"

"No…"

"Shit." He shouted out the open door, "Sherry where's that contract?"

His assistant came jogging in, shuffling through the stack of papers in her arms. "Got it."

Gerry turned back to me, "So what's this about?"

I wasn't expecting to have this conversation right now; I had really just wanted to get the copy so I could read it over myself.

"Well… I got you the article about public works on Tuesday..."

He nodded while he read the contract in front of him, "Yea. Nice job."

"Thanks… but I wanted to talk to you about the piece I had originally done on the Middle East."

"Look Rory, I told you, it's a good piece, but it's too much for our column. You're a great writer, but I can't print everything you do."

"I know. I get it. That's why I'm here, that's why I want to see my contract… I want to know if I have rights to shop it as a freelance piece."

He looked up from his desk, like he was asking if I was serious. I felt my hands sweating… I had gotten all excited talking to Dominic today; I really didn't want Gerry to tell me it had been a waste of time.

He took one more glance at my contract. _I really wish he would just let me see it._

"You show it to anybody yet?" _Please! Just tell me if I messed up._

"Yea… an editor at a freelance agency. He said told me it had promise… I just really wasn't ready to give up on that piece. It's not that I don't like what I'm doing here, I _do_. I just…"

"Relax Gilmore. You're in the clear, but going forward you still have to give us first shot at everything you right. You are staff here, after all." He smiled, "The last thing we need is to get scooped on a story written by one of our own."

I was so relieved. I took out my phone on the way back to my desk to email Dominic to confirm that everything was copasetic, and realized what time it was. _Crap, I've got to get going_.

After the email, I sent Leslie a text to let her know the good news. She was excited, but cared more about what I was planning on wearing tonight… _big surprise_.

At quarter to eight I was giving myself a once over in the mirror. I was definitely going to be late again, but it shouldn't be too bad. Outside of office attire, my 'nice' clothing selection had become rather limited. I didn't have all that much need, or the budget for it. I finally settled on a Friday-night-dinner-approved purple cocktail dress and sweater combo. My hair was still up from work, but at the last minute, I pulled the clip out and let it fall around my shoulders… _couldn't hurt, right?_ I settled on a small clutch with the essentials, rather than my usual everything-but-the-kitchen sink bag, and as I headed out I got a text from my mom.

" _Not sure what we are rooting for tonight, but break a leg, kid."_

When I found my way inside it was relatively crowded. As I wove my way through small groups gathered at the bar tables, I was vaguely reminded that it had been exactly a week since our first encounter. _It had been a very long week._

He saw me first this time, stood up from his bar stool and flashed a patented grin. I could see that he had taken the liberty of ordering drinks while he was waiting for me.

"Well look at you, Ace." I wasn't sure how to respond. _Was that just a compliment, or was he flirting with me?_

"Well, when you picked a place like this to meet, I figured hobo-chic wasn't my best option."

He laughed as we sat down. _Good_. Laughing is good. "A prudent choice, though I'm sure you could have pulled it off. Besides, I think the Olsen twins would have stood by it."

I felt the slightest hint of butterflies in my stomach, and took a sip of my drink. _He had brought out his A-game._

"So… sorry I'm late…"

"No need to apologize. We're busy people." He hadn't stopped smiling, and he was using that sly tone that I remembered so well from college.

"Yea… Work has been kind of crazy this week. You?"

I hadn't meant to bring up what had been a sore subject at lunch. He kept smiling, but only nodded.

Tonight had started so well, I didn't want to push it yet.

"So, I got some good news today…"

"Yea?" He immediately perked up again.

I told him about hearing from Dominic, and the momentary, but ultimately unfounded panic about the logistics of my contract.

"Wow, Ace! That is good news!" Hearing him call me _Ace_ felt good… _Really good_ … "We should celebrate. Bar keep!" He leaned towards the other end of the bar holding up two fingers toward the bartender, who in turn set down two shots of tequila in front of us.

"Logan…" _This is not the kind of 'drinks' I had in mind tonight_.

He tilted his head and gave me his best puppy dog eyes. "Come on... not everybody is as lucky as you with their publishing rights... To new opportunities!" He held up both glasses, one outstretched to me. I knew Logan could come up with a reason to celebrate anything, but it was nice to see that he was excited for me. I reluctantly took the drink and downed the shot with him.

"Any ideas of where this guy is looking to get your article out?"

"No, not really… to be honest, I haven't even met him in person yet. Leslie is actually the one that got me in touch with him."

"Well she does… _care_." He wasn't going to let that one go anytime soon. "So, besides taking the journalism world by storm, and Leslie, what else is going on in your life?"

It was strange for our conversation to be so comfortable. It wasn't exactly like it once was – I'm not sure that it ever would be – but it was much more natural than lunch had been.

"Life is pretty good. I really like being in the city. It's always exciting, there's always something to do… but you know that, you lived here before... Oh and I told you about my mom and Luke, and Landon..."

"You did indeed. It's very exciting. I'm sure your grandparents are thrilled." His last statement had an heir of amusement to it.

"About having another grandchild? Of course. About having had to explain to the ladies at the DAR and the guys at the club that their son in law has no pedigree and runs a diner? Not so much."

"Sounds like classic Richard and Emily."

"Very much so… I'm actually having dinner with them tomorrow night."

"Don't tell me Friday night dinners are still a thing in the Gilmore family?"

"I believe that until the Gilmore house goes the way of the Hartford Circus, Friday night dinners will remain a thing. Having the excuse of leading a busy, New York-centric life, I don't attend all that regularly, but I do make an occasional appearance. Much to Luke's chagrin, attendance for the three of them is mandated."

"Well, I should expect nothing less from your grandmother…"

We spent a few minutes recalling some of Emily's more memorable moments, including the look on her face when she heard Paris and Doyle's joke about sleeping with their respective editors at my 21st birthday party.

"How is Paris these days?"

"Paris is still Paris. She's busy in Boston, finishing up medical school… although I'm not sure she will ever go into the practice of medicine. That whole aversion to sick people is finally catching up to her. She is now considering a PhD to go along with her MD so she'll probably end up spending her time doing research. Doyle actually ended up sleeping on the couch for like a week after making some crack about her _belonging_ in a lab."

"Brave man, that Doyle."

"Indeed, lesser men would have perished under the pressures of life with Paris long ago."

I took a drink from my martini glass and smiled, remembering the years I spent living with Paris at Yale. I can only imagine what it's been like for Doyle while she's been in med school.

"So I expected that you would turn into a total _work dork_ , Ace, but that's it? Your family and Paris?"

The emphasis on the term _work dork_ made me smile, a phrase I had coined as commentary on his change in priorities after he had left Yale.

"No… I'm not a _work dork_ all of the time. I've got Leslie, and we have a pretty good group of friends and guys from the office that we hang out with…"

" _Guys_?" He had a sudden look of intrigue on his face as he interposed his question. _He was fishing to see if I am dating someone._

"Yea… you know, just friends. We all go out after work sometimes. A couple of them regularly embarrass themselves in the darts competition that McConnell's has on Tuesdays. Always very amusing." I was a little surprised by my need to clarify the platonic nature of my male friendships, but I guess I shouldn't be given his reaction to Sam at lunch the other day.

"Right." He smirked as he took a drink of his scotch, but I couldn't tell if it was because he could sense the nervousness in my voice, or if he was relieved to hear that I wasn't dating anyone.

"Speaking of amusing friends, you still hear from Colin and Finn?"

He laughed. "Yea, I do. Finn is still chasing redheads, most unsuccessfully I might add. Colin is actually here in New York. Apparently he met and fell madly in love with this girl he met in Brazil, at a topless beach, no less. Turned out she was on spring break from Brown at the time, insisted he come home with her to meet her dad, who is some big-wig at a bank. Under the impression that the star cross lovers would last, he gave Colin a job so that he could provide for his little girl. Long story short, a few months later he lost the girl but now he's stuck with the job."

" _Wow_. Well, at least it's nice to know that some things never change."

"But some things do?" _Once again I had unintentionally opened a can of worms._ I wasn't exactly sure where he was going with that, but it was too early in the evening for that kind of innuendo.

"So, um… want another?" I referenced our mostly empty glasses, and signaled the bartender for refills.

He nodded. Hearing about Colin and Finn was the most information about his life that I had gotten out of him so far, so I figured I should run with the conversation. I spent the next half hour hearing about the boys' escapades, some new stories, some old. We were both having a good time, laughing and joking, when the story of the three of them crashing into my philosophy lecture to put on a skit wound its way into the exchange. For a second I thought that the mention of it would bring our conversation to a screeching halt, but instead Logan summoned another round of shots.

We each still had half of our drink of choice in front of us, so I had to ask, "What are these for?"

This time when he held up his shot glass it was, "To Colin and Finn…"

" _Colin and Finn_?"

He gave a sly smile, "…without those to idiots I might never have won you over."

I was embarrassed, both by the fact that he had brought it up, and by the fact that he seemed to be so proud of that supposed feat. Regardless of where we went from here, Logan and I had had some great times together. I bowed my head and picked up my glass, "…To Colin and Finn."

Now there was a pause in conversation, but it wasn't so much awkward, as it was expectant. Logan was peering past my shoulder to the other side of the room, but before I could even turn my head to see what he was looking at he had stood up and grabbed my hand. He pulled me up from my own stool, and hurriedly dragged me away from the bar.

"Logan! What are you...? What about our…?"

He laughed over his shoulder, "Come on, Ace. Where's your sense of adventure?" It was with him. _It was always with him_.

When he stopped we were standing at an empty booth. I looked at it, and then back at him, "A vacant booth? _This_ was your adventure?"

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "I saw the last group leave and didn't want to miss out."

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **


	10. Chapter 10: A Real Pain in the Ass

I couldn't help but laugh out loud as we sat across from each other in the plush, U-shaped seat. "We could have at least taken our drinks with us."

He shrugged his shoulders, "So? We'll get fresh ones…"

I knew I had already had enough to drink, but I was too interested to see where this was going. Besides, the break while we waited for the server to return gave me an opportunity I had been waiting for, and I was just inebriated enough to take the chance…

"So, why haven't we talked about _you_ at all?"

I saw him freeze. It was only for a second; in fact if I hadn't been expecting it, I doubt I would have noticed. "We just talked about me…" The server returned to place our drinks on the small table between us, and I assume that Logan thought that would get him off the hook, because he took his tumbler of scotch and sat back in the booth.

"No, Logan. We talked about Colin and Finn. I've told you all about my work, my family and my friends, but you haven't said anything about your life." I wasn't trying to be accusatory; I think it came off as matter-of-factly as it could have.

Now he knew he was caught. He let out a sigh as he leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees, and looked at me eye-to-eye, "What do you want to know?"

"All of it."

He ran a hand through his blonde hair and gave me a ' _Really_?' look. I waited patiently for him to begin.

"I dunno, Ace… you know all about Colin and Finn. They came out to California with me for a little while, but got bored when they realized I was doing actual work… _surprise, surprise_. I've got other friends, but most of the socializing I do these days is for business. Schmoozing, entertaining potential clients, lunch meetings, cocktail parties… all that stuff I hate having to do."

"You don't hate it." He smiled. I was right and he knew it. He fought long and hard to avoid responsibility at Yale, but once he found his way, he loved his work. He wouldn't be so good at it if he didn't love it.

"Fine, California was alright."

" _Alright_? It only took you what, like six months before you had that company up and running with its first major client? That is better than alright."

He raised his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes, "What, you can follow my work, but I can't follow yours?"

"Okay, okay… yea, the work part was good, _is_ good, but there hasn't been much more to it than that."

Now it was me raising my eyebrows, "Logan Huntzberger, party animal extraordinaire, struck out on his own to make a name for himself, found a big house in California, built a major company from the ground up, and didn't have _any_ fun?"

I was teasing him, but he wasn't laughing now. His eyes were on the floor.

"Logan?"

"I didn't keep the house..." He was speaking softly again, like he had on the street the other day. I didn't know what to say.

"…The avocado tree? That's what you're talking about, right?" He paused for a second, but didn't wait for me to respond. "That house wasn't for _me_ , Rory. It was supposed to be for _us_."

"Logan, that's not… I didn't mean to…" I wanted to know about his life, but I wasn't looking for another round of dramatics.

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't want to start this again. The other day was… exhausting." He gathered himself a little before he took a drink and spoke again. "You're right, I had my share of fun, but mostly I worked a lot. I'm _still_ working a lot."

"But it's worth it, right? I mean, look at all you've done. You've become _so_ successful…" I was bordering on sappy, and he was starting to look uncomfortable. He always gave me a bad time about not being able to take a compliment, but he was just as bad. I wanted to redirect but as soon as I said it, even with my sarcastic inflection, I wished I hadn't… "Plus, with that _Huntzberger_ charm the ladies must be lining up at your door."

I guess, subconsciously I had been wanting a chance to fish for answers, too, even though I pretty much already knew what the answers were. I knew who Logan was before me, and I had no right to expect anything different after me. I had said no, and I came to terms with what that probably meant for his sex life a long time ago.

He made a face at me, "Ace…"

I really wasn't trying to make him feel guilty. _I just have a morbid sense of curiosity_. "It's okay, Logan. I was just giving you a…"

"It wasn't like that."

"Really Logan, you don't have to…"

"Rory, stop." I was surprised. "You really want to know _this_?" I nodded, now I was really curious.

"I wanted it to be like that. Believe me I tried." He was almost laughing at himself now, and I smiled in spite of myself. "I wanted to move on, but it never… After you… Crap like that just wasn't enough."

 _Wow._ Not at all what I was expecting from the guy who slept with half of his sister's bridal party without me even knowing we had broken up.

"You… I… Everything I did before us, the hooking up and the casual stuff, it was all stupid… But after I knew what it was like to have more, to have what we…" I _really_ wanted to know how he was going to finish that sentence. "… I found out the hard way that the stupid stuff meant even less than I thought it did. And I wasn't… I'm _not_ interested in finding somebody else to have more with."

 _Was that present tense?_ As in he is _still_ not interested in finding somebody else? _Was it the booze talking?_ He _did_ say he wasn't walking away again. _Why was this making me so uncomfortable_? I was having another one of those possible movie moments.

We had been having fun at the start of the night, more fun than I thought we would, but then I pushed him and it was suddenly getting serious. Neither one of us was sober enough for serious. I didn't want serious right now. At that moment the server walked by and I flagged her down for two more shots.

Logan was wearing the amused expression he always had when I surprised him by doing something out of character. I challenged him with a ' _What?_ ' look. It was the same kind of silent communication we had mastered years ago.

He smiled, seeming to be as relieved as I was for a change of direction in the conversation. "Well, alright then, Ace. What are we drinking to now?"

"We established that California went well, and I know that Oregon and Washington followed suit. And now you're taking on New York. We toasted to my new opportunities, so now we should toast to yours. So, to New York…"

"To New York. It will be… interesting."

I wasn't quite sure what he meant by that last bit, but at that point it didn't matter anymore. We had had too much, but at the same time just enough to drink. I knew that I would regret it in the morning, but right then, we were finally just relaxed and having fun. I hadn't had fun like that in a _long_ time.

Over the course of the evening we had somehow, maybe subconsciously, drifted from across the booth to next to each other. At one point we were engaging in a drunken battle of wits with a couple of guys from the next table when Logan threw his hand up to emphasize a point and I happened to glance at his watch.

"It's after _one_?" I had no idea it had gotten to be so late. I was going to need an IV drip of caffeine tomorrow.

"Uh, oh. Is Cinderella late for her pumpkin?"

I glared at him.

"Okay, you're right. I'll settle the tab and we'll get going."

I grabbed my purse, but much like at lunch he waved me off and went to the bar to pay. I picked up my coat and went to wait for him by the door, only to feel someone run into me from behind. If I had been sober I might have been able to steady myself, but instead I stumbled forward, only to be caught by Logan.

"We've really got to stop doing this Ace."

I knew I was blushing. I have not had good luck with doorways lately.

He laughed and put his arm around my shoulders, "Come on, let's get out of here."

I let myself lean into him as we walked out, but when the cold night air hit my face I realized that this is what I had been afraid of when I agreed to drinks. With no inhibitions it would be so easy for me to fall into his arms and pretend like everything was back to normal. As great as tonight had been, as close to _normal_ as it had felt, I knew I wasn't ready for it. I could wake up tomorrow and feel differently, but I didn't want to take that chance yet.

"So, um… I should get home." I started to pull away from him to hail a cab.

"Ace, come on, let me take you home. I already called a car."

"I'll be fine, don't worry about it."

"It's late, we've been drinking… Look, Ace." He motioned to the curb. "The car's right here."

"Logan, you don't…"

"Damn it, Rory, would you _please_ just get in the car?" He was holding the door open with one hand and held his other arm out to me with his head was hung down in frustration.

Being stubborn was a trait that he and I shared when we were sober, and being drunk only made it worse. When we were younger it caused more than a couple of arguments, but in that moment all I could do was laugh. It all just seemed so silly.

He finally looked up when he heard me laughing as I made the few steps towards him and he tried to hide a smile, "You can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, you know that right?"

"My mother would be so proud to hear you say that."

He gave in and let a real smile spread across his face as he shook his head, "Please just get in the car already."

I finally relented and gave the driver my address as we pulled away from the bar.

We rode most of the way to my apartment in silence, but it was a comfortable quiet. I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes.

"Tired?"

"I will be tomorrow."

When we pulled up, the driver opened my door and I started to get out of the car.

"Ace…"

I turned back and saw Logan looking at my building and down my street. I knew what was coming; we had been through it before when I moved in with Paris and Doyle at Yale.

"Logan, I'm fine."

"At least let me walk you inside."

I rolled my eyes to let him know that he really didn't have to worry before I finally waved him out of the car. I knew he would sit out there until he saw a light on anyway.

He followed me up all four flights of stairs, only making one comment about how it must be convenient to not need a gym membership. When we got to my floor, I undid both of the dead bolts and opened the door, "Home sweet home; safe and sound."

"Hey, you can't blame me for wor…"

"Please don't." I didn't need to hear him say it. I already knew that he didn't like that I lived here, but to hear him say that he was worried about me would only make me more susceptible to whatever charming line he had in store for a good night.

I stood in the doorway, facing him in the hall. We both stood hesitantly for a minute before he said something.

"Don't let your stepmother know I kept you out so late."

I was confused for a moment, until I remembered his pumpkin comment from before.

"Your secret is safe with me." I returned his smile as he backed away from the door.

Before he started down the stairs he looked back to me, "Night, Ace."

I closed the door and leaned my back against it. It was late, I was tired and still a little drunk, but I was _happy_.

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Keep the love coming! I had to post these two chapters together, so I hope you enjoy! Continue to Follow and Favorite if you haven't already, and Comment to let me know what you'd like to see coming up! Any ideas? xxoo


	11. Chapter 11: Sleeping on the Trundle Bed

The next morning I was pretty sure there was a fire engine inside my apartment, until I opened my eyes. _The alarm clock_ … I dragged my ass out of bed for the second Friday in a row. I was definitely hung over, but decidedly less miserable than the week before. I smiled when I thought about last night.

Right when I was about to pour myself a cup of coffee there was a soft knock at my door. My first thought was Leslie. She would want to know everything. I was surprised to see through the peep hole that no one was standing there. I opened the door to look around, and almost stepped on the rather large box that was sitting on the floor. There was a note taped to it, on the same ivory card that had been sitting under the cup of coffee a week ago.

I put the box on the table and lifted the lid to find a couple of cups of warm coffee, doughnuts, Pop-Tarts, and a bag of tacos. I picked a cup of coffee and read the note.

 _"Wasn't sure what you'd be in the mood for, but I thought you might need a Fairy Godmother this morning. – L"_

I couldn't stop smiling as I drank my coffee. _It really was sweet_. I pulled a taco out of the bag to eat as I picked out my clothes for work and packed my bag for the weekend.

I had a morning meeting and a few other things that I had to take care of today, so I shook myself out of my dreamy daze to get in gear. After a quick shower, I got dressed, picked up my bags, grabbed a doughnut and another cup of coffee for the road and was out the door.

As expected, a certain friend of mine was waiting at the coffee cart when I got off the train.

"Well I thought you could fill me in about last night after we got some coffee, but I see that you've got that covered… perhaps from a certain someone?"

"Perhaps…"

She got her own coffee, and we headed inside. I could feel her looking at me out of the corner of her eye as we walked. "So what's with that face you have on? Finally do the deed with Huntzberger?"

 _Jeeze, she was blunt_. " _No_. There was no deed doing. And could you keep it down?" I made a face to indicate my hangover, but surprisingly it wasn't so bad… _it was the taco_. The reality was that I knew someone overhearing the name Huntzberger would draw attention, especially in a news room, and I that was the last thing I wanted right now.

"So _no sex_? I thought for sure that after you guys got drunk… you did actually go, didn't you?"

" _Yes_ I went." I mocked resentment at her insinuation that I would chicken out on last night. "There was no sex, and... no avocado tree, but there was an argument about the car… and tacos." I was smiling as I recalled the events of the night.

"Riiiight… And these are _good_ things?" I laughed when it occurred to me how confused she must have been.

"Yea. They are good."

She shook her head, still baffled, "Whatever this thing you guys have going on here is getting twisted."

I sat through my meeting, and took care of replying to a few emails, before I clicked the tab to compose a new message to LHuntzberger.

" _The tacos did the trick. – R"_

If he could be all short and sweet, then so could I. About two seconds later my cell phone buzzed on my desk; the text message was from an unknown number.

" _I have a confession to make."_

I knew who it was. _"Could it be that you went through my phone to steal my number last night?"_

" _It's not like I wasn't going to get it eventually anyway."_

" _Pretty confident, are we?"_

" _I have my ways."_

Actually, I wasn't sure why we hadn't exchanged numbers before. I thought about what Leslie said, about this thing being twisted. Twisted definitely wasn't the word I would use, but it certainly was interesting.

" _How did you get tacos delivered at 7am anyway?"_

" _I know a guy..."_

He text again before I could reply.

" _I've got meetings all day, but I'm glad you got the tacos. Have fun with the Gilmores tonight."_

 _Oh the Gilmores._ I could only imagine what Emily would have to say if she knew that I had been out getting drunk with Logan Huntzberger last night. She had been so disappointed when I turned him down; she'd had her heart set on us being the 'Golden Couple'.

After I didn't hear from him, both of my grandparents spent some time resenting the impropriety of his disappearance… Who was he to just walk away their granddaughter? The fact that it was after I rejected him was unimportant. Since then he has not been a topic of discussion amongst us, just kind of an unspoken persona non grata.

I was not about to bring him up at dinner tonight, but I did need to fill in my mother.

When I took my lunch, I called her. She got all the details of the evening…

"So did you…?"

 _What was with them?_ "No, mother. Contrary to popular belief getting drunk does not equate to falling into bed."

"But it's…"

"I know, it's _him_. Look, I told you the other day; I'm not ready for everything yet… But he did send some much needed tacos this morning…"

" _Tacos_? Hun, it sounds like this kid really means business."

I paused to think, and yet again found myself smiling, "Yea… I guess he does." It was silly to think about the fact that the taco delivery had been more convincing than his moments of soul bearing over the last couple of days. _Maybe it was a combination of both_.

"Alright, my dear, will Mr. Darcy be joining us for dinner tonight?"

"Are you kidding?"

"Mostly." I knew how much my mother loved to cause trouble at Friday night dinner, but I hope that even she knew that that would just be cruel, for me and for him.

Later that afternoon a messenger delivered a large envelope from Dominic, containing the notes he had made on my article and a copy of my perspective contract, as promised. Interestingly, my first thought was to have Logan look it over. It actually wasn't a bad idea… he knew this industry as well as anyone and could make sure I got exactly what I wanted, but I changed my mind.

I made a decision in that moment; regardless of whatever complicated capacity Logan ended up occupying in my life, he would _not_ be involved in my career. I had gotten this far on my own and that wasn't going to change now.

I read over the contract myself. I understood what I was being offered, but decided to bring it with me to dinner. A once over by my business-minded grandfather wouldn't hurt.

At the end of the day, I changed for dinner before I left work, since the garage where I kept my car was closer to the office than my apartment. As per usual I was running a little behind schedule. _My mom was going to kill me._ Even after a much needed stop for coffee I ended up making pretty good time up to Hartford, and was welcomed with open arms upon my arrival.

"Rory! It's been ages, come in, come in…" Emily led me into the living room for hugs all around.

"It's about time you showed up; you know being late to dinner is practically a cardinal sin." My mom was already trying to stir the pot.

"Oh Lorelei, let the girl be. She had a long drive, besides it sounds like she got lucky. I just had the radio on in the study and there seems to have been a big accident on the interstate; apparently there was at least one casualty, several injuries; it has everything backed up for miles. We should just be glad she got here in one piece." Mom was disappointed that Grandpa let me off the hook. "Can I fix you a drink, Rory?"

"Oh um…" The taco had worked its major hangover magic this morning, but I think that detoxing would be wise, "…just club soda, please."

Mom let out a snort. "Had enough lately?"

 _She was deliberately trying to get me in trouble_. I glared at her as I deftly changed the subject, "So, Grandma, Grandpa, what's new?"

Grandma gave me a brief rundown on the latest with the DAR, and then in true Emily fashion, took the opportunity to lambast Mom, "Well your mother was just telling us that even though they missed last week's dinner, they will be unable to come next week as well. Some can't miss Stars Hallow event, although it seems like there's some asinine festival going on in that town every other day…"

"Asinine is _right_." Luke didn't often voluntarily enter conversations with my grandmother, but we knew his feelings about Taylor's shenanigans.

It was making sense now; Mom was just trying to take the heat off of her. _What a surprise._ Two could play that game.

"And what exactly does Taylor have in store this time, Mom?"

"Oh you know, Rory..." She was making a face at me, urging me to play along. She was clearly full of it. "…the one hundredth annual Stars Hollow…"

My phone went off in my purse. She was saved by the bell.

"No phones, Rory!" Landon surprised everyone with his scolding of me. I laughed, my mom looked appalled by his adherence to Emily's rules, but Grandma looked proud.

"He's right Rory."

"I know, I'm sorry, I'll just…" I checked my phone. It was an email from Gerry reminding everyone to be ready for the pitch meeting on Monday. "It's just work." I silenced the ringer and slid it back inside my bag.

"Oh you're working too much. Besides, you should have let Miranda take your purse." Before I could protest, she had grabbed my bag and began shouting for the maid, "Miranda! _For heaven's sake_ , you couldn't have the courtesy to take our guest's purse?" Her voice trailed off in the direction of the dining room where the poor maid was undoubtedly hiding.

Grandpa directed our attention away from Emily's diatribe against their latest maid. "All that hard work seems to be paying off for you though. You've had a solid streak of bylines lately." He was proud. "I've had The Post added to the subscriptions of papers that are sent to the club, that way I have an extra excuse to show off your talents."

"That's great, Grandpa. I've actually been working on some new ideas…"

I filled them in on my entrance into the world of freelance. I had Grandpa take a look at the contract; he told me it looked pretty good, but suggested that I propose a sliding scale for my print royalties… higher payment for publishing in papers with higher readership. I don't know how realistic of a counter offer that was, but it was certainly a good idea.

Over dinner, Grandma caught us up on the latest gossip amongst her bridge group, Luke reluctantly answered questions about business at the diner, Mom earned her fair share of dirty looks in response to various less than appropriate comments, and Landon entertained us all with a spirited rendition of the theme song from his favorite cartoon.

By the time we had finally gotten out of there Landon was half asleep. We headed back to Stars Hollow and made a pit stop at the diner for pie. Lane met us there to fill us in on Zack, and Steve and Kwan. She gave us the latest on the music store. She and Zack had taken it over a year ago after Sophie moved out of state; it was the perfect gig for a pair of rock n' roll parents.

"So, what's new in the big city?"

Lane was always excited to hear about life in New York, but before I could answer, Mom burst out,

"She's seeing Logan!"

Thankfully, by now Luke had taken Landon home for the night, _but still_. "We aren't _seeing_ each other."

"You have _seen_ each other, on multiple occasions."

"But we're not _seeing_ each other."

Mom dramatically rolled her eyes. " _Semantics_!"

" _Woah, woah, woah_ … slow down! Logan? _The_ Logan? Since when? How did this happen?"

Two pieces of pie and a lot of shocked expressions later, she had heard the whole story.

"Holy cow. So, what now? Are you back together? Are you getting married?"

" _Married_? No!" Not counting our first run in, I had only seen him twice in four years.

" _What_? It's not like you guys just met. You're not _exactly_ starting from scratch… I mean, he sent you tacos."

 _Again with the tacos_ … I knew it was impossible for us to start from scratch, but I didn't want things to move too fast.

"And you really haven't had sex with him yet?"

"Lane!" _Why is everyone in my life obsessed with whether or not I've slept with him?_

She made a face and glanced at my mom, "Sorry, Lorelei."

"Don't apologize to me, I asked her the same thing."

" _No_. There hasn't been _anything_ like that…"

"Honestly Rory, all these declarations of love, but no sex?"

"There has been _no_ use of the word 'love' and for the last time, there has been _no_ sex. Besides, this is an awful lot of grief coming from the person who vowed to never sleep with her husband again after her honeymoon."

She and Zack had moved passed that a long time ago, but it was still fun to poke fun at Lane about it once in a while.

After some more light-hearted girl talk, we called it a night, locked up the diner and headed home. I took a shower before heading in to my old room. I was glad that Luke had talked mom into round two of renovations when she got pregnant. They added a second bedroom upstairs for Landon, which meant that my room stayed as is for when I visited.

For the first time since drinks at my grandparents' that evening I pulled my phone out of my purse, having forgotten that it was on silent, only to find that by now the battery had died. I plugged it into the charger, but was asleep long before it turned back on.

I was startled from a deep sleep by my phone ringing. I answered groggily without looking to see who was calling.

"Hello?"

"Ace! God, are you okay?"

"Logan? It's…" I glanced at the clock… _One-thirty? What the hell?_ "What is wrong with you?"

"I… I called you earlier; I've sent you like fifty text messages…"

I held the phone away from my ear to look, and sure enough there were icons in the corner of the screen to indicate unread texts and missed calls.

"Sorry… there are no phones allowed at dinner, then the battery died, and I fell asleep…"

"Are you at your mom's?"

"Yea. Logan, what is going on?" He was talking so quickly, and I was still half asleep.

"Can you let me in?"

 _What!_? I looked out my window just in time to see headlights pulling into the driveway. _What in the hell is going on here?_

"Logan, what…"

"Please?"

I hung up the phone and crawled out of bed. _He is insane_. _What is he doing here?_ He was halfway up the porch steps when I opened the door. He looked like a mess.

"Rory…" A look of relief washed over his face. I still had no idea what was wrong, but it was freezing outside. I opened the door wider for him to come into the living room.

I was whispering as not to wake everyone upstairs, "Care to explain?"

"You didn't answer your phone."

"Yes, we've established that. I'm sorry, but…"

"I know, I know… I'm not supposed to worry about you. You made that pretty clear last night, but you know that's a bunch of crap, Rory. I always worry about you..."

My brain was still catching up to him being here in the middle of the night. I rubbed my hands over my face trying to process all of this.

"…I worried about you when you were trekking around the country on the campaign. I worried about you being in city alone. And that place you're living in…"

Okay, he didn't like where I lived, _I get it_. "Fine Logan, but what are you doing _here_?"

He took a breath. "I knew you were driving into Hartford tonight, and then I heard about that accident, and…"

"…and I didn't answer my phone." It was falling into place. _He was scared_.

"I waited to hear back from you, but you weren't calling me back… I thought about calling hospitals, but that seemed a little extreme…"

" _You think_?" He was a nervous wreck. _It was kind of cute_.

"I just didn't know what to do. I couldn't sit there not knowing if you were okay… I just got in the car…"

"I'm fine, Logan. Look, all parts here and accounted for." I spun around, trying to provide proof that he could relax.

He seemed to a little bit, but the look in his eyes were still uneasy.

"I just got so… I had to…" He didn't get to finish that sentence… I looked up, put my hands on either side of his face and kissed him.

 _How could I not?_ He cared about me… _a lot_ , clearly. He still wanted me, he worried about me, he was here… _he sent me tacos_.

I pulled my head back, just enough so that I could look him in the eye, "I'm here. I'm okay."

"Okay." I don't know what it was about us and the work 'okay', but somehow we managed to make it mean a lot more than it should.

I let my hands rest on his chest and he dropped his head. I could feel him finally take a deep breath.

"Rory, I'm…"

I shushed him softly. He had clearly been through enough tonight. He looked exhausted.

"I should go…"

I couldn't let him drive back to New York like this. _I_ would end up being the nervous wreck. Instead, I took his hand and led him toward my bedroom.

" _Rory_ …"

I turned and gave him half a smile, "Don't get any ideas. You're sleeping on the trundle bed."

He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. It took me a little longer to fall back to sleep. I had wanted to kiss him. I had missed kissing him. _There was no going back now_.

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Lane makes an appearance! And of course our dear Rogan makes some strides! What do you think? xxoo


	12. Chapter 12: Some S'plainin' to Do

My cell phone buzzed next to my pillow, waking me yet again; I checked the clock, 6:05am… _why is the world intent on keeping me from sleep_? This time the buzzing signaled a text from my mother,

" _Lucy, you've got some s'plaining to do."_

All of last night came back to me in a flash. _Logan_. I rolled over to see that he was still sound asleep on the trundle, still dressed in his clothes from the day before. _I guess this would take some s'plaining…_

I got up and headed into the kitchen in search of some coffee; I tried to close the door quietly as not to wake him, but almost yelled when I turned around. My mom was already sitting at the table with two cups of coffee in front of her. _Oh boy_.

"What are you even doing _up_ this early?"

"Oh, funny story… See, Luke always gets up at an ungodly hour to go to the diner, usually he, being the angel that he is, makes a quiet exit to leave me to sleep. This morning however, he purposefully woke me up wanting to know why there was a Porsche parked outside in our driveway. I thought he was messing with me, or maybe Ed McMahon had shown up on our lawn with balloons and a giant check… but I look out the window, and low and behold: Porsche, right there in the driveway."

She obviously knew who the Porsche belonged to, but given what I had just told her yesterday, it didn't exactly explain what it was doing here. I still couldn't believe that Logan had shown up, so I began slowly, " _Well_ …"

She made a gasping noise and exclaimed rather loudly, considering there were still people sleeping in the house, "You didn't! Not on Trudy!"

"Mom!"

She lowered her voice, "Sorry, but…"

Her volume was better but I was still lost, "Who the hell is Trudy?"

" _Trudy_?"

She held her arm up to my bedroom door, and replied a tone that told me I should have already known, "Trudy… the trundle bed."

I rolled my eyes. It was way too early for this... _Besides, that ship sailed a long time ago_. "No, Mom. Would you just give it a rest already…"

"Well he shows up in the middle of the night, he's still here this morning… what _other_ conclusion am I supposed to come to?"

I took a big sip of coffee and sat myself in the chair next to hers before I told her how he had shown up in the night before more or less in a panic.

"Well, the boy certainly has a flair for dramatics."

 _Look who's talking_ … I decided to keep that comment to myself. "I couldn't let him drive back to New York last night. He was a mess."

"So, what? He just crashed here, and that's it?"

"Well…" She got an anticipatory look on her face. "… _relax_ , Trudy is fine... But I did kiss him."

"You kissed him? How was it? Like _just_ a kiss, or…?"

"It was… _right_." I found myself smiling as I said it. It wasn't like it was some big passionate, dramatic kiss; but it was hardly _just_ a kiss. I don't think it was possible for us to have _just_ a kiss. It was _one_ kiss, but in that moment, it was right. He needed it. _I needed it_.

"Well I guess a kiss is a step in the right direction…"

"The _right_ direction? Are you telling me that you're actually rooting for this? Even after…"

"I'm rooting for you to be _happy_. Hun, I could have _killed_ that kid for walking out like that, for breaking your heart, but the two of you… I mean, you guys clearly have a long way to go to figure out all of _this_ …" She gestured dramatically between me and where he was presumably still asleep to emphasize her point. "…but if this is what you want, if you say it's right…" She shrugged her shoulders with a half-smile.

She wasn't thrilled, but she was accepting. If this worked out, she would come around.

We sat there in the morning quiet for a few minutes, letting it all sink in. Our collective silence was broken by the sound of my door opening, and a half-asleep Logan muttering, "Ace?"

He froze, hand halfway through his hair, completely unprepared to be face to face with my mother, and obviously unsure of what he should do next. "Uh…"

My mom, _bless her_ , picked up her coffee, and put her hands up as she left the table, "I'm not here!" I heard her footsteps go up the stairs.

Logan was staring at the floor, biting his bottom lip, more or less mortified by what had just occurred.

I had an uncontrollable urge to giggle and I put my hand over my mouth in an attempt to stifle it.

"What could _possibly_ be funny?" It wasn't really funny, but never in a million years would I have imagined this scenario. It was like we like we were college kids being walked in on at my grandparents' vow renewal all over again… at least we were fully clothed this time.

"Coffee?" He nodded his head as he finally managed to move himself from the spot he had become rooted in. He collapsed into the chair that my mother had vacated. Figuring he was in more immediate need of it than I was, I gave him the cup that was already in my hand before getting up to get another.

I sat back down next to him. "You okay?"

He looked up at me from his coffee with one eyebrow raised, implying that it had been a stupid question. I started to giggle again, but this time he just ignored me and rested his head into his hand as he leaned his elbow on the table.

I managed to compose myself. _Apparently we were not handling this lightheartedly_. "Logan?"

"Does she hate me? I would probably hate me if I were her." He was sincerely concerned about this.

His ability to be self-deprecating was endearing, but he had to know it wasn't that simple. He knew that she and I talked about everything.

"Shes…" I didn't know if I could explain the understanding we had come to about him. "…things aren't black and white like that with her."

He sighed and sipped his coffee. I really hadn't had time to imagine what our conversation would be like this morning. I was trying to decide what to say, but he started first...

"I should get back to the city." _What_? _He showed up here, we finally kissed, and we're not going to even talk about it?_

He got up from the table and headed back to my room.

"You don't have to…" He had put on his shoes, taken his keys from the dresser, and was on his way to the front door by the time I caught up with him

He opened the door to leave. I didn't understand what was happening. "Hey…"

He was already down the steps and on the lawn when I finally shouted at him, "Logan!"

He stopped, turned around and looked up at me. I was genuinely confused by what was going on here.

"What was _that_? You show up last night, an absolute mess, you make me kiss you, and now you try to take off? What happened to not walking away?"

He looked ashamed. "This is so…" He was searching for the right word.

I offered, " _Complicated_?"

"Yes. This… us… life… it's all complicated. And now your mom's in on it, and she's not happy."

"Of course it's complicated, Logan. Did you expect it to be easy?"

When he had apologized in the rain I knew that's what he had wanted; he wanted to say sorry and go back to us. But it was never going to be that simple.

"As far as my mother goes, she has been in on it the whole time… what happened back then, what's been going on now. I can't actually speak _for_ her, but do you think we would be standing here right now if she really thought that badly about it? Besides, if I recall correctly, your parents have _never_ been fans of mine."

I saw a hint of a smile on his face. After a pause the air seemed to have lightened a bit, and he responded, "If _I_ recall correctly, I didn't _make_ you kiss me."

I could feel my cheeks blushing. I looked at the ground, "You know what I meant… The last few days have just been so emotional, and…"

He deadpanned, "Complicated?"

"…then when you showed up last night so worried and…"

"Rory…"

"…you sent me tacos."

" _Tacos_? The tacos are what did it?" I finally looked up at him, to see a bewildered smile on his face.

I let out a small laugh and started to look down again, a little embarrassed, but he gently raised my chin with his hand and looked into my eyes; he was serious at first, but then he smiled.

Wordlessly, he moved his hand from my chin to the back of my neck, while his other hand slid around my waist as he pulled me close to him. He kissed me... like _really_ kissed me. The kind of kisses I had dreamt about for years. I know I had kissed him last night, but _this_ … this was an eyes closed, take my breath away, _real_ _kiss_.

When we finally broke apart I let myself fall into his arms, like I had wanted to outside of the bar. He leaned his forehead against mine and sighed, "I should have done that the other night."

I smiled and looked up at him, I was glad he hadn't. It would have been different. _This was right_ , to be honest and sober, to be fully aware, _to be able to feel every part of that kiss_.

"I mean it, Ace. I kicked myself the whole way home for not kissing you right then and there. And then last night, when I heard about that accident, when I wasn't sure if… I panicked. I was afraid I might never get the chance… I don't want to miss any more chances. I don't want to mess this up again."

I was fighting tears at this point. "I don't want to mess this up, either… I don't want to rush _this_." I mimicked my mother's hand gesture from earlier, even though I knew it was lost on him.

" _Okay_." _There is that word again that_ …

I didn't get to finish that thought. He wrapped me up in another long kiss. _I have really missed kissing him._

He ran his fingers through my hair and held me as we stood there for a few minutes longer.

His cell phone ringing broke the silence. He looked at it, but didn't answer. Instead he turned back to me apologetically, "I really do need get back into the city today, but if you want me to stay…"

"It's okay. Go…"

"You're sure?"

I nodded. I could feel it. It really would be okay.

"When will you be back the city?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

He smiled, "I'll be waiting." He kissed my forehead before getting in his car.

I watched him back out of the driveway before I started back into the house. This was really happening. _We were really happening._

When I got inside I could hear my mom upstairs with Landon. I found them in his room playing with Paul Anka.

"Hey… Where's Logan?"

"On his way back to the city."

"He _left_?"

"No… I mean yes, he left Stars Hollow, but he's not _gone_. He just has some things to take care of."

"So things are...?"

I smiled, "Things are good."

She smiled back, "Good."

The three of us, _four if you count Paul Anka_ , spent the morning playing and watching cartoons. I always loved getting to spend time with Landon, and being in Stars Hollow made me feel more at ease, but knowing that Logan and I were finally working things out let me enjoy the rest of the weekend a little bit more.

While Landon was napping Mom and I put on a movie and were painting our nails, something we hadn't had the time to do together in a very long while. It was then that a thought popped into my head that threatened the nice morning we had been having.

"So, does Luke know? About Logan?"

Even before he and my mom finally got together, Luke had always been protective of me. He had been there for me for most of my life, but I knew he would be less forgiving than Mom was. I loved Luke for wanting the best for me, I just didn't know if I could get through to him about all of this.

"Well, I had to tell him _something_. Porsches don't exactly just pop up in Stars Hollow."

"Is he upset?"

"At you? No. He's just worried. Let's just say, that when he saw how hurt you were, my first instinct to kick the crap out of Logan was rather polite compared to what Luke had in mind."

My grandparents, and my dad, even Logan's parents were complications that we would have to figure out eventually, but Luke was in my life all of the time. I wasn't sure where to start with him.

It was like she could read my mind, "Look, I will take care of Luke, at least for a little while… but you are going to have to face him eventually."

"Thanks, Mom."

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - A little follow up to round out the weekend... More to come this week. I know those of you who read the first time around will be looking forward to it! Keep showing the love! xxoo


	13. Chapter 13: Probably Not for a Gentleman

The rest of the weekend turned out to be exactly the break that I needed. We all had dinner at Sookie and Jackson's that night, and I go my usual greeting from Michele when visited the Inn with Mom Sunday morning. We had lunch at Luke's before I left. A couple of times during lunch I could tell that Luke wanted to ask about what was going to happen when I got back to the city, but my mother was true to her word about dealing with him for now, going so far as to kick him under the table in an effort to change the subject.

After hugs and goodbyes, and a wet kiss on the cheek from Landon I was back on the road. I hadn't heard from Logan since he left, but that was alright with me. I had told him I didn't want to rush into all of this, and he seemed to get it. I was so happy that we were back on track, but looking ahead at the prospect of actually being together was a lot to handle.

The whole way back to New York I tried to imagine, for the millionth time, how different our lives would be if I had said yes then. Our careers, our friendships, our relationship… I thought I had scrutinized every possibility over the years, but this time I knew it was different. I couldn't say for sure what would have happened then, but now… We were established in our lives as individuals, theoretically more mature, hopefully more capable of handling adversity. _Maybe this is really how it is supposed to work out…_

I parked my car in the long term garage and grabbed a cup of coffee at the cart by the office before taking the subway home. I picked up my mail from the weekend, but my newspaper was missing. _Not the first time. I'll grab a copy at work tomorrow_. I was flipping through my mail as I climbed the stairs. I turned towards my door, and there he was, leaning against the wall, reading my paper.

"Hey…"

He looked up at me and smirked, "Told you I'd be waiting, Ace."

I shook my head. If I wasn't already well versed in his displays of affection I would be in disbelief, but to be _literally_ waiting for me to come home, was classic Logan.

"How long have you been standing here?"

He shrugged, "I found something to read… Hey, did you know that they redistributed the public works budgets?" He held up the paper in his hand _._

"Funnily enough, I did hear something about that."

"There's a great article in The Post about it… really helped to pass the time." He winked and smiled as he held out his hand, "Let me take some of that so you can open up Fort Knox."

I realized that I was standing there holding my work bag, my duffle bag from the weekend, my coffee, my mail and my keys. I let him take my bags while I undid the deadbolts and unlocked the door.

"You know we could probably find you a chain and pad lock for this place; then you might actually be able to compete with this neighborhood."

I rolled my eyes as I led him inside. "Logan, it's not that bad."

"There are _bars_ on the windows."

"It's New York City, _lots_ of buildings have bars on the windows. Besides, we can't all be up-town and high-rise living like all you Huntzbergers."

"Yea, all us _Huntzbergers_ …" We had been joking, but his voice had gotten quiet again. I realized that since we had lunch last week, I hadn't given a lot of thought to how he was adjusting to being back on the same coast as his family.

"Hey, come here…" He had put my bags on the floor and pulled me in for a kiss, distracting me from my train of thought and effectively escaping having to address the topic, for now at least. "…can I take you to dinner?"

"Dinner sounds good."

It _felt_ good to finally being comfortable with each other again. I grabbed my purse and Logan feigned impatience in the time it took me to redo all of the locks on my door. When we got downstairs there was a car waiting at the curb.

I didn't know what or if he had made plans, but I pulled him away from the car, "Let's walk."

"But…"

"Come on, where's your sense of adventure?" I teased.

He didn't miss a beat, "Not in _this_ neighborhood."

Last time around he had always surprised me with grand gestures, and ended up kind of sweeping me off of my feet, but this time I wanted to do it differently.

"Look Logan. I told you, I don't want to rush into this. I don't want to try and just pick up where we left off…" I saw an inkling of disappointment in his face. "You said it yourself; if we are really going to do this, it's going to be complicated. I know we can't start from scratch, but maybe we could start small. Maybe just… _date_?"

He just stared at me for a couple of seconds, a look of skepticism on his face, "You want to _date_?"

"Yes." I smiled, the idea had really only occurred to me as I was speaking, but I was rather satisfied with it. "I want to _date_."

"But…"

I shook my head and continued, "Nothing fancy, nothing over the top, no dramatics… just _dating_ , like normal people." What he had once said to me about 'normal not being why I loved him' echoed in the back of my mind, but I went with it anyway. "Think you can handle that?"

He stood there, once again wearing that amused look on his face. He laughed cautiously through his response, "Yea, I think so…"

"Good." I took his hand and started to walk down the street. "There's a really good Chinese restaurant a couple blocks away… perfect for a first date."

I smiled back at him; he rolled his eyes and shook his head while we walked. I could practically hear him thinking, 'What have I gotten myself into?' _This was going to be fun._

The restaurant, much like my apartment, was kind of a hole in the wall… I _maybe_ could have seen Logan coming into a place like this in college, but judging by the look on his face when we walked in, he had clearly been frequenting more impressive establishments since joining the ranks of the business elite.

I followed his eyes around the room that was decorated in a manner that was painfully cliché, yet delightfully kitschy... Red and gold banners, paper lanterns, Buddha candle holders on every table. _Al's Pancake World would be lucky to look this authentic on Dim Sum night_.

His eyes had found their way back to me, and gave me a tentative look.

"Oh, just trust me!" A case could be made that I was enjoying his uncertainty a little bit too much, but it's not like I was actually trying to torture him… _it honestly is good Chinese food_.

The waitress led us to a table at the back of the restaurant, near the kitchen door. If we were lucky, we'd get to see the owners later; they were a husband and wife who had a tendency to engage in arguments that spilled into the middle of the dining room, spoken entirely in Mandarin. I never understand a word of what they said, but it was part of the experience.

Since he was _trusting_ _me_ , I took the liberty of ordering what I consider to be all of the highlights of the menu for us…way too much food for two, but that's why they invented to-go containers.

I did a mental victory dance when the food arrived and he tasted the Mongolian beef.

"Ace…" He nodded approvingly with his mouth full.

I smiled proudly at having won him over. "What did I tell you? It's good, right? Here, try these…" I piled an egg roll, garlic shrimp, sweet and sour pork, and some chow mein on his plate.

"Hey, slow down, I'm not a Gilmore, you know…"

"Well, you're certainly not going to win any points with my mom talking like that…"

I took a risk bringing up my mother after the other morning, but I was glad to see that he laughed at the comment.

We talked, and laughed, and ate our way through the rest of the meal, which did end up including a particularly entertaining show from the proprietors. When we were finished, the waitress put a little tray on the table with our bill and two fortune cookies.

I broke open my cookie first, and read the fortune aloud as he reached for his,

"'You will conquer obstacles and achieve success.' A little generic, but beggars can't be choosers. What'd you get?"

He was reading the strip of paper from his cookie with a big grin on his face, but then he folded it and put it in his pocket without saying anything.

"What does it say?"

That smirk of his was playing across his face, "I'll tell you later."

"Logan, come on!"

He shook his head. I would have kept pushing the matter, but he distracted me by reaching for the check. I beat him to it.

"No way. This is the best part about this place."

"Better than the owner coming _this close_ to throwing dishes at her husband?"

I nodded and smiled before I opened the book that held the bill, which came to a grand total of $37. We had both had our fill and there were at least two more meals worth of leftovers boxed up in front of us, all for what I'm sure was a small fraction of what he had spent on drinks the other night.

Despite his protests, I paid the bill and we walked outside with the big bag of leftovers. Logan stopped outside of the restaurant and pulled out his phone.

"Hey. What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting a car?"

"Nope. You _agreed_ to date me… that means you're going to have to deal with living like the other half once in a while. We go to crappy restaurants, we eat left overs, and we survive without car service. Welcome to life styles of the working class." I had started walking as I spoke, and turned to make a grand gesture to go with my last line, but he was still standing where I had left him, just looking at me.

"What? Not regretting your decision already, are you?"

He smiled and fell in sync with my steps, "Not at all."

He put his arm around me and I leaned my head against his shoulder while we walked back to my apartment. I breathed in his familiar scent _. Is this all really happening?_

When we got upstairs I opened the door and put the leftovers on the table. Logan was leaning on the frame of the open door, _perhaps waiting for an invitation that I wasn't ready to extend tonight_. Instead, I came face to face with him on the other side of the threshold.

"Well, you got dinner _and_ a show… good first date?"

He grinned and nodded. "So… does a first date include a kiss?"

"Probably not for a gentleman…"

"Well, good thing I've never been very good at that gentleman stuff." He leaned in as he spoke and planted one, perfect kiss on my lips.

It took me a second to wipe what I assume was a very goofy smile off of my face as he stepped back from the door.

It suddenly occurred to me that we hadn't finished the cookie argument. "Hey, are you _really_ not going to tell me what your fortune said?"

He continued to back away from the door; before he started down the stairs he gave me a mischievous smile, "Goodnight, Ace."

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - I know this one was another popular chapter the first time around, so I hope you continue to enjoy it! Follow, Favorite and Comment as always! xxoo


	14. Chapter 14: Let's Go, Cassanova

I gave Leslie the rundown of the weekend's events over coffee Monday morning. She was still incredulous, but I couldn't really expect anything different, seeing as how she had only ever seen the aftermath of what we had once been.

"So, you're _dating_?"

"Yes."

"And you're _sure_ about this? Last week you were bordering on complete meltdown over just running into him."

"I know..." She was totally right, and I would probably be saying the exact same things to her if the situation were reversed. "Believe me, _I know_ … I just think it could be different this time. We were so young before, you know? Neither one of us really had our lives figured out, but now…" I exhaled, trying to properly express how I could have switched gears when it came to Logan so quickly. "When he proposed I didn't want to make my life fit into this idea that he had created, but I think this could really work if we figure out how to fit into each other's… And _now_ I sound like a Lifetime movie…" If it were me listening to somebody else saying this, I would have been disgusted.

"Just don't let him hurt you again, okay?"

I nodded, but I wasn't really worried about it. Everything he had said to me since we ran into each other, about what happened back then had been so sincere… I trusted him.

"Well alright then. Besides… Can I be honest with you?"

"Aren't you always?"

"I would have slept with him by now."

" _Leslie_!"

" _What_? If I didn't know you, and I had just met him in a bar… Hot, rich guy; looks _really_ good in suit? No question."

"You need to get a grip."

"I wish I could…" Her statement was ripe with double entendre. I glared at her out of the side of my eye. Sometimes she reminded me too much of my mother. "Okay, okay… _relax_. I get it, _kind of_. I know this is a big deal. And back to what I said about not letting him hurt you… It doesn't matter how good looking he is, there is going to be hell to pay if doesn't make good on all of these promises he's making you. "

"I know." I was lucky to have people in my life that cared so much about my wellbeing, even if it did pose complications in my relationship.

I took a long lunch so that I could head to Midtown and meet with Dominic about my freelance contract. During our conversation I slid in mention of the sliding pay scale that Grandpa had suggested; Dominic was impressed by my 'gumption', but insisted that it was a discussion for a later time. It wasn't unheard of, but I was going to have to prove I was worth that risk before the agency would consider it. _It was worth a shot_. I went over the revisions I had done to the article since he had last seen it, and he was pleased. I wasn't totally confident that it was ready to print, but he assured me that it was good to go. I took a deep breath and signed the contract. _Here goes nothing_.

Back at The Post we had our pitch meeting that afternoon. Leslie was working on a follow up to the fast food protests that were happening in the wake of a big organic food conference that had been reported on a couple weeks ago. I would be starting coverage of the final launch of Space Shuttle Discovery. I figured that at least I could get a couple of pieces out of it; a before, as it happens, and a follow up. That way I would be able to plan ahead, and make time to do some other writing if this freelance thing panned out.

Leslie was begging for more details about the date last night so she came over work. We were flipping through TV channels when my cell phone rang; it was Logan.

"So I got an interesting call at the office today…"

"Really?"

"Yea. I don't usually have a lot of time to take unexpected calls in the middle of the day, but my secretary said it was a number from The Post, so naturally I assumed it would be you… imagine my surprise to hear another woman's voice on the phone…"

"Well you know what they say about assuming…" I turned around to see that Leslie was avoiding looking at me at all cost.

" _No kidding_. It was Leslie, and she threatened me with pain of death if I turned into, to use her words, a jackass again..." I glanced at Leslie once more as Logan continued and could almost smell the guilt. "…I believe the words 'drawn and quartered' were thrown around. I mean, I know she _cares_ and all, but…"

I couldn't help but laugh a little bit; he wasn't going to let that one go. "In her defense, we did watch Braveheart last week… sounds like she was inspired."

I'm sure he could hear her laugh ring through the background. "Fair enough, but can we call off the attack dogs?"

"I think that is an issue you're going to have to take up with her."

" _Ace_ …"

I handed Leslie the phone, "It's for you…" This was clearly not what Logan had in mind, and it was potentially risking his pride and well-being, but he was going to have to face her eventually.

I laughed as she put on her best phone voice, sounding surprisingly like Emily Gilmore, " _Logan, so nice to hear from you again…"_

I watched her as she listened to him for a minute, before she held her hand over the phone and turned to me, "Could you excuse us for a moment?"

Slightly stunned, but definitely amused, I shoot my head, got up from the couch and busied myself reheating last night's left overs. I could feel her eyes on me as their conversation continued, making sure I wasn't trying to eavesdrop.

After almost ten minutes, their conversation seemed to finally be coming to a close. I had no idea what they had been talking about for so long, but she finished with, "I'm glad we've come to an understanding, Mr. Huntzberger." She proceeded to hang up the phone and join me at the table.

I was totally lost. "What the hell was _that_ all about?"

She nonchalantly started picking at the food in front of us, "Just taking care of some business."

As far as I had been able to hear, there had been no raised voices and no further threats, both of which I took as good signs.

"Oh, and don't make plans for Wednesday night."

From her matter of fact tone, I knew she wasn't going to give anything else up. _What did he say to her?_ How did she go from medieval torture to arranging plans for me?

The next morning at the office I was working on gathering some back information on the space shuttle, when a delivery man approached my desk with a rather conspicuous bouquet of flowers. I shook my head knowing exactly who they were from, signed for the delivery, and placed the vase on my desk. _They were beautiful_. There was a card attached, on stationary that was becoming very familiar,

" _Dinner tomorrow night. Pick you up at 8:00. – L"_

Sarah, Sherry and a couple of the other ladies around the office were eyeing the flowers, with obviously curious expressions.

Leslie popped up behind me, "I think you should wear the black dress."

 _Now she was officially conspiring against me?_ Well maybe not _against_ me, it wasn't like I didn't want to go, but working in cahoots with Logan? I almost regretted having handed her the phone last night.

Mom called me after work and I tried to explain the ' _dating'_ agreement I had talked Logan into, hoping she would grasp the concept a little better than Leslie had.

"You sure you can handle that?"

"Am I _sure_? It was _my_ idea."

"I know, but the two of you, trying to circle back to the beginning of a relationship? You do remember that you were one word away from being engaged to the man, right? You rejected the final rose." Sookie had recently gotten her hooked on The Bachelor. "How long do you think this going-slow stuff is actually going to last?"

I honestly couldn't answer that question. I had come up with my starting small plan on the fly the other night, but I was confident that it was the right thing to do. "I don't know… We just need to lay some ground work before we let things get serious again… we will figure the rest out as it comes."

"Whatever you say, daughter of mine… What do you want me to tell Luke?"

"I guess you can tell him that we're dating? It's the truth…"

"Oh yea, that will be an easy one… 'Hey Luke, your stepdaughter called. She wanted me to let you know that she's _dating_ the guy that you swore to kill if you ever saw him again.' I'm sure he'll take it well."

"Just tell him that we're taking our time to make sure that this is right. Besides, you can let him know that Leslie has the whole 'kill him if he hurts me' thing down."

"Oh she does?"

"Yea. She apparently called him at work and threatened to have him drawn and quartered."

"I _knew_ I liked that girl."

"Yea, well, he called me and I go and let her talk to him, thinking I was going to be smoothing things over. Only problem is that now she's working as a double agent. She helped him set up another date for us tomorrow night."

"Well maybe that's a good thing. She can keep him in check."

"Yea… Maybe I should have her find out what his fortune cookie said."

"Oh, good idea! I wonder what all the mystery is about…"

Our conversation devolved into five solid minutes of her devising hypothetical fortunes, all of which were entirely preposterous, before we called it a night.

After work the next day I picked up my black dress from the dry cleaners; the same dress I had been wearing that fateful night we ran into each other at McConnell's. I still hadn't been able to get any details out of Leslie about what she and Logan had talked about, or why she was suddenly so on board with _us_ , but maybe I could get something out of Logan tonight.

At exactly eight o'clock there was a knock at my door. I looked through the peep hole to see Logan standing outside, wearing a nice suit, holding another bouquet of flowers. I smiled involuntarily.

"Just a minute!" I finished applying mascara to my other eye, and quickly decided between the two pairs of heels I had been considering, stepping into them as I opened the door. Why couldn't I be on time for _once_?

"Hey, Ace."

 _God, he's handsome._

Rather than tell him what he already knew, I looked at the flowers. "You know, I said nothing fancy." I reminded him of the terms of our date agreement.

"Hey… It was _your_ idea to date _me_ … that means you're going to have to deal with living like the other half once in a while." He winked as he threw my own line back at me.

For a second I considered being stubborn about it, but I conceded, "Thank you, they're beautiful."

"So are you." I struggled to hold back a smile as I put the flowers in water.

I found my resolve again; _I would not be so easily wooed_ , after all this was only our second date. I exaggeratedly rolled my eyes, "Let's go, Casanova."

Despite my efforts, he knew he had gotten to me; his smile revealed his self-satisfaction.

As I should have expected, there was a car waiting downstairs. I looked at him, to tell him that this was too much for ' _dating'_ , but he put his hand on the small of my back and lead me to the car, "Oh, just trust me!" If he wasn't being so sweet I would have called him out on turning all of this around on me.

He slid into the car next to me. "So, where are we going?"

The driver was already pulling away, with no instructions from Logan. "You'll see."

He was killing me with all this secrecy, but I was feeling the familiar thrill he had always sparked in me. Being with him was always an adventure.

When we pulled up to the restaurant, I recognized it immediately. He had taken me here when he was living in the city before. It was a beautiful Italian restaurant, completely on the opposite side of the spectrum of where I had taken him the other night.

"Well, this place looks familiar…"

"I hope so." The last time he took me here had been a wonderful night. He had just gotten back from a business trip; I hadn't seen him in over a week. He came all the way to New Haven to pick me up at Yale, just to drive back to the city for dinner. It was one of the more romantic weekends we'd had together.

We checked our coats, and were led to our table.

Chivalry is clearly alive and well on the east coast, because Logan pulled out my chair and asked as I sat, "Leslie didn't tell you where we were going?"

 _She knew?_ "No… and I'm not sure I like whatever the two of you have started here." _The two of them working together was already turning into a dangerous combination._

He laughed and unbuttoned his suit jacket as he took his own seat across the table, "Yea, well _I'm_ sure I don't want to be on her bad side, so you might just have to deal with it."

He certainly had a point there… "So, I take it you've put drawn and quartering behind you?"

Like clockwork, his cellphone rang… He dropped his head, clearly not happy about it, "Maybe _not_..." He glanced at the number, "Are you going to hate it if I have to take this?"

I shook my head, "Go." I certainly wasn't excited about it, but I beginning to get an idea of how life with Logan was going to work. To be honest, I was actually surprised we've made it to this point with as few work related interruptions as we have.

It only took him a few minutes to return to the table, a little worse for the wear considering what a great mood he had been in before the phone rang.

"Everything okay?"

"It will be."

The waiter brought a bottle of wine to our table and we ordered, but I couldn't shake my growing concern for him. He had still been avoiding talking about work, despite the fact that everything I had seen about the company was very positive.

I took a sip of wine from the glass that he had poured for me before convincing myself to just ask him about it. _That's what people did on dates, right?_

"Logan, why don't you want to talk about work?"

He must have known this was going to come up eventually, but he hesitated to answer.

"I mean, I know the gist of it. You told me a little about California… I don't want to start anything if it's going to be a big deal, but I'm curious. I thought you'd be more excited about all the success and expanding the company, and..." I heard myself beginning to ramble, so I stopped.

He gave a half smile… _Better than no smile, right?_ Finally he formulated an answer, "I am. It's great; it's what we've been working towards for a long time. It's just… complicated."

"Seems to be a pattern in your life these days."

He snickered, "You could say that…"

When he paused and I wasn't sure if I should press the subject; I wanted to know, but things had been going so well the last few days, that I didn't want to ruin it all tonight. He surprised me when he continued voluntarily.

"When I went out there the whole point was to be able to make it on my own, you know?"

 _I knew._ He was determined to get away from everything his father had put him through, grooming him for the family empire. I nodded in earnest, "And you have."

"Exactly." He said it very flatly, almost with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

I didn't understand why this was a problem. "That's a good thing, right? It's really amazing what you've done, Logan. You've done more than anyone would have imagined."

"A lot more than _Mitchum_ imagined." _Of course…_ Mitchum _._

"Are we going to need something stronger than wine for this?"

I was relieved to see a smile on his face, "No… Anyway, you know how pissed he was when I quit, and I think he really wanted to write me off, but… when we started doing well, he turned around and tried to buy us out."

"What?" I hadn't heard _anything_ about this.

"Yea… _twice_ actually. Once early on, and again when we took over media for a big paper in Seattle. He made pretty convincing offers both times… big compensation, promising huge expansion, all the classic Mitchum takeover moves..." I could hear the repulsion in his voice as he described quintessential Mitchum offers. "…I actually had a hard time convincing the other partners to turn it down. In retrospect, I guess it was some ass-backwards, Huntzberger form of validation… acknowledging that I had that I had _actually_ done something with my life, but I couldn't just hand it over after everything he put me through… which of course just _pissed_ him off again."

He actually laughed at that point.

"Wow…" I was impressed; by both his success, and the fact that he had stood up to Mitchum. "…so I guess being back on the East Coast really _is_ complicated."

He chuckled again, but almost in a self-deprecating manner as he ran his hand along his jaw, "Complicated… is an understatement. When we decided we were ready to make the move, we had bids in on two publications out here at the same time, which admittedly was a little risky for us. We were counting on landing _one_ of them, but figured we could probably manage both if it worked out..."

I already knew they had landed both clients, "And they did…"

"Right..." He gave an approving smile, acknowledging that he appreciated that I had followed the company's goings on. "We've been managing them mostly from the Bay Area, doing a lot of back and forth while we get the New York office up and running. The original plan was actually for me to come out and oversee it for a few months, and then head back…"

There was a pause there and I came to a realization… "So when you said you were still living out of a suitcase…"

He nodded. _Was he leaving?_ I knew he saw the thought flash in my eyes. "That _was_ the plan, but about a week before I came out here, Mitchum called again. First he wanted to make another offer, a straight buy out, banking on us having a hard time managing both accounts from the West Coast, but I turned him down… again. A couple of days later he called back and countered with a new deal."

I was on the edge of my seat, practically holding my breath.

"He offered a merger. We would rebrand as _Huntzberger Media Corporation_ , but we remain a separate entity from Huntzberger Publishing Group, thanks mostly to the fact that HPG is a publicly traded company, and we aren't. Under the terms of the merger, Mitchum joins the board and takes shares in the Media Corporation, and in return I become an active partner at HPG."

" _Holy crap."_

He laughed, "Yea… I was… well, to be honest I didn't know what to do at first. I fought _so hard_ to get out of that company for so long, and I've given _everything_ to build this one… I don't think I slept at all for like a week trying to make a decision. But…"

He took a deep breath and just looked at me. "What?"

"That day after lunch, in the rain… when I finally said everything out loud, about having been stubborn and stupid for only being able to see _my_ side of things… "

 _Do not say you made this decision because of me._

"…I realized that I was only struggling to make a decision about this merger because I was only seeing _my_ idea of what it had been like in the past..." _Thank God._ "…It finally occurred to me that I need to look at the bigger picture. If it was _any_ other publishing group offering the deal, I would jump at the chance; I mean it's a _huge_ opportunity. Increased capital, practically tripling our client list… The fact that it's my dad obviously complicates things, but I'm not going to deny myself success, just to keep him from getting what he wants."

He was right about the fact that it was going to be complicated being back with HPG, but screw Mitchum. Logan earned this.

"So you made the deal?" The rest restaurant may has well have been completely abandoned. I was completely engrossed, unaware of anything else going on.

He nodded slowly, as if he was still processing it himself. "I made the deal. That's why I had to get back here over the weekend."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know, Ace. I'm sorry I didn't… It's just a lot happening all at once."

"No kidding… so how is this all going to work?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out now… We've got one or two more things in the works that have to get taken care of before the merger can actually happen, plus Mitchum wants the New York office officially up and running before anything is announced. You know… _stability_ and all…"

" _Wow_ …" It was taking me some time to digest all of this, so it suddenly became clear why Logan had been so closed off about it. "Working with Mitchum again…."

He exhaled, "Yep, working with Mitchum again." This was obviously huge, and I could tell he was still coming to terms with the fact that he was essentially where his father had always wanted him to be. The important part is that he took his own path getting there.

I reached across the table to hold his hand. "I'm really proud of you…" He looked self-consciously up at me, "…I mean it, Logan. Earning your place, making your dad eat his own words after all that crap he put you through. You deserve this."

He shook his head, "It's not going to be easy."

"I know, but…" It was with complete confidence that I found myself assuring him, "You'll handle it."

The waiter returned and placed our plates in front of us, breaking the bubble we had encased ourselves in. I turned to here before she started to walk away, "We're going to need a couple glasses of champagne, please."

Logan raised an eyebrow, " _Champagne_?"

"I thought it might be more appropriate than tequila shots… We are living like the _other half_ tonight, after all." I did my best at mimicking the kind of smirk he habitually flashed at me.

She returned with our glasses, and I raised mine to him, "To dining with a captain of industry."

A very big smile spread across his face. _I knew he would remember that one_. He raised his glass to meet mine and we drank to honor his success. I glanced at the table while I placed my glass down and looked up to see that he hadn't taken his eyes off me… hadn't _moved_ really, and it didn't seem to bother him that I was now right back at him.

I narrowed my eyes and tried to deduce what might be thinking. He was still smiling, but it was slightly different than the one that had occupied his lips… _those lips_ … a moment ago. It was like… I realized in that moment that I knew _exactly_ what that smile was about.

I had seen it countless times before… so often in fact that I couldn't believe it had taken me this long to register it now. I could see it in his eyes… he wanted to say it. In my head I could hear him, as if he were sending it to me telepathically, though I knew it was only a memory, " _I love you"_.

 _Oh God... I'm not…_ I'm sure he could tell most of what was on my mind, as he so often could… _My poker face was never the greatest_ … because his smile once again shifted. It remained on his face, though wasn't quite as wide as he broke our eye contact and looked down at the table. He knew what our agreement was… _Slow_.

We enjoyed another meal laced with comfortable banter, and more than a few intimate looks.

After they had cleared our dinner plates, the waiter brought a dish of chocolate mousse to the table. Logan showed his mischievous face; He had ordered it last time we were here. For all of his bolstering when we met about not being a commitment guy, he certainly was a romantic.

The car was waiting for us when we walked outside. I laced my fingers between his, and rested my head on his chest as we rode back to my apartment. I couldn't begin to explain the comfort I felt when he kissed the top of my head.

He walked me up to my door, and once again we found ourselves standing across the threshold.

With his hands in his pants pockets he asked rather confidently, "So, I had to steal a kiss the other night. What does a second date get me?"

"Do I get to know what your fortune said?"

He shook his head and smirked as his hands cradled my head and he leaned in for a kiss… which turned into several kisses. I almost let him come with me as I backed into my apartment, but one step through the door I pulled away.

He sighed and let his head hang back, "You're killing me, Ace."

"What kind of girl would I be if I let you in on a _second_ date?"

He pushed my hair back, and kissed me softly behind the ear and whispered, " _My_ girl."

Chills ran up my back. He knew exactly what he was doing when he placed that kiss, and I was closer than ever to pulling him inside, but I mustered up some resolve and shook my head as I put my hands on his chest to put some distance between us.

"What do you have going on Friday?"

He exhaled, reluctantly accepting that he wasn't making it any further inside. "Honestly, I will probably be stuck at work late. We're trying to get a layout finalized and ready for release."

"Perfect."

He was surprised that I was happy about it.

"There's this theater that has midnight showings of old movies…"

He got it now, "Perfect."

He kissed me again, one last attempt to change my mind.

" _Goodnight_ , Logan."

He hung his head as stepped back from my door. "Night, Ace."

I watched him as he begrudgingly began to make his way downstairs, then closed the door and smiled when I saw the flowers he had brought sitting on the table. I changed out of my dress, took the vase from where it rested and placed it on the window sill next to my bed before falling asleep thinking about what he had stopped himself from saying at dinner; _He loves me._

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Happy Tuesday... Another date for our favorite couple. :)

Follow, Favorite, and Comment! Show me some love! xxoo


	15. Chapter 15: The Mind of a Gilmore Girl

Thursday morning I woke up with a smile still on my face from the night before. I really wanted to tell my mom about last night's little revelation, but when I sent her a text all I got in reply was, _"Bride's missing."_ I took that to assume there was a crisis regarding the wedding she was hosting at the Inn this weekend, and not instructions to put out an APB on Uma Thurman's whereabouts.

During an early meeting with Gerry, I managed to convince him to greenlight my space shuttle work as a series, rather than a single feature. It was a great opportunity, but seeing as my only contextual knowledge of the space program involved Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, and a giant asteroid, it also meant that I had some serious research to do.

I had all but climbed into my computer screen when Leslie abruptly dropped takeout boxes on top of everything on my desk. "You gotta eat, Gilmore."

I looked at watch and realized it was _way_ passed when I had promised to meet her for lunch.

"Oh crap, I'm sorry, I was just…"

" _Caught up_ …" She offered, effectively taking the words out of my mouth. "Don't worry, I recognized the face the first time I walked by and took matters into my own hands…" She handed me one of the boxes, "Gyros from the Greek place down block."

" _Opa_!"

"My thoughts exactly. Now…" Her face suddenly got serious as she slid a chair in next to mine, "How was last night?"

" _Like you don't already know."_ I still couldn't believe that she had known where he was taking me and hadn't told me.

"I have _no_ idea what you're talking about." She was a terrible liar.

"Knock it off, Les. Your new best friend sold you out."

"Okay, _fine_. I knew where he was taking you, but that's it, _I swear_. And I told you what to wear, so it's almost like I told you… Besides, _where_ you went is not the important part."

"It's not entirely _un_ important…" I let her know our history with the place.

She shook her head, "Is he _always_ Mr. Smooth Moves?"

"Worse." If I knew Logan, he was just getting started.

"Okay, so we have established that he is _wooing_ you, but how'd it go?"

"Good…" _Really good_. "Progress was definitely made…"

"…Toward the bedroom?"

I rolled my eyes at her expectant stare, "Are you ever _not_ thinking about… _sex_?" I unintentionally quieted my voice when I uttered ' _sex'_. While it's safe to say that I was less self-conscious while discussing the subject now than I was earlier in life, I'm still not one to publicly announce it.

"Occasionally pesky things like work get in the way… but _alright_ my celibate friend, what kind of progress are we talking about?"

For Logan to have stood up to, and now be working with his dad again was a _big_ deal, and for him to trust me and be comfortable enough to talk to me about it, was even bigger. I just didn't know if Leslie could appreciate _how_ important of a thing it was for us, especially without knowing all of the details of the Logan-Mitchum chronicles.

"He has some really big stuff going on in his life and he's finally opening up about it. He's being honest."

"He _better_ be."

I glared at her, imagining what else she might have threatened him with. "I didn't mean that I expected him to be _dishonest_ , but we're both letting the other in more, talking about things that matter, so maybe we can move forward."

She raised her eyebrows suggestively, "To the…"

" _Stop_." I rolled my eyes at her agian, but I had to laugh.

"Hey, I told you, if it were _me_ …"

"I _know.._. Don't you have your _own_ love life to obsess over?"

"Eh… I'm supposed to see this guy on Friday. Dena from layout set me up with him, and I assumed that _you_ would already have plans that didn't involve little, ole' _me,_ so I figured what the hell."

"Hey; you do not get to blame _me_ for accepting a blind date."

"What _else_ am I supposed to do? Ever since Blondie rolled into town, our friendship has been reduced to tzatziki sauce at your desk." She was being dramatic, but I _had_ been spending _a lot_ of time with Logan.

"Don't worry, Les. I have room for two blondes in my life. You and me, Saturday."

"Deal."

I spent the rest of that afternoon and a good part of Friday morning compiling as much information about the space program as I could before diving into the initial piece.

Late in the afternoon I got a call from Dominic. "Gilmore, I've got good news and…"

" _Bad news?"_ It kind of slipped out of my mouth.

"No, not bad news… I was going to say a potentially interesting offer."

 _An interesting offer?_

"The good news is a couple of online papers want your article."

Hearing the term online papers, it suddenly occurred to me that keeping Logan out of my career would probably be easier said than done… _but somebody wants my article._

"And the interesting part?"

"Well, I've got a friend over at The Times, and you should know that I only send him stuff that won't be a total waste of his time…"

 _The Times?_

"…anyway, I meant what I said about you having good stuff, so I sent it his way. He agrees with me, but he wants more. If you can keep the hard facts, but spin it in terms of ramifications these problems would cause on something people care about, like say… oil prices, he said they might consider it..."

 _The New York Times might consider my article._

"That being said, even if they take the rights, there's a good chance it won't make print. There's more competition to get ink in The Times than any paper in the world, so they have their pick of the best. It's up to you… take the risk, or go with one of the other offers that pretty much guarantee a byline, but I need a decision or you'll lose both shots."

"I want The Times." _I have always wanted the times._

He laughed a little at my lack of hesitation, " _Okay_ , we'll go for it. You've got the weekend to get it done; they need it by Tuesday, but I'll want a chance to look it over."

"Yes, sir."

I put down the receiver in disbelief. Odds were definitely against me, but there was still a chance. _I could see my name in The New York Times._ They turned me down for the fellowship, and they weren't hiring when I came to the city… this could _finally_ be my shot.

I had to prioritize. I needed the first installment of my space shuttle series by next Friday, which was well after Dominic's deadline, but I wanted to give the piece for The Times some undivided attention. I decided to tackle the space shuttle first; I had been working on it all morning, and if I stayed late I should at least have the bones of it together, and be able to flesh it out next week. In the meantime I could spend the weekend focused entirely on Saudi Arabia.

An hour and a half later, when my desk phone rang I jumped; I had developed tunnel vision.

"Gilmore…"

"Hey, Ace."

"Hey…" I was surprised to hear Logan's voice coming through the line. "Is this a business call?"

"Sorry, your desk was the first number my secretary had for you."

"Aw, your secretary called me… I feel _so_ special."

"Hey, I'm lucky I'm getting to call at all. Today's turning out to be more of a nightmare than I expected, but I wanted to see if we're still on for tonight?"

"We are, and I checked the schedule… they're playing Hitchcock tonight."

" _Perfect_. It will fit right in with the day I've been having…"

"Yes, but only if you can pull of a pill box hat better than Tippi Hedrin."

"Well, I can't make any promises; Tippi is a hard act to follow. So The Birds it is then… Strange concept, rudimentary special effects, should be excellent fodder for criticism."

"We'll be the new Statler and Waldorf."

" _Who the hell are Statler and Waldorf_?"

"The old guys from The Muppets… step up your game Huntzberger."

"Well, my apologies to Mr. Henson. Listen Ace, I got to run. I'm still not sure what time I'll make it out of here; can I meet you at the theater?"

"I'll get the tickets."

"See you tonight, Ace." He rushed off to get back to work, and since I still had a long afternoon in front of me, so did I.

Around six Leslie was passing my desk on her way out for the evening, "I thought you had plans with the man candy tonight?"

"Midnight movie… He's working late."

She eyed the stacks of paper on my desk, "Well, at least you're not the only workaholic in this relationship."

I rolled my eyes. "Good luck tonight."

She waved behind her as she walked to the elevators, "Thanks, I'm probably going to need it."

After a stop at home to grab something to eat and change my clothes, I headed to the theater and was rather pleasantly surprised to find Logan waiting by the ticket booth.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to be here yet…"

"Yea, well I pulled the boss card and left them to finish up."

" _Such_ a slave driver…"

"Yea, well… I had other priorities."

He leaned in with a smile and kissed me.

"I guess I can support your delegation."

He raised his eyebrows, " _You guess?_ I better try that one again…"

He leaned in again… _God, he can kiss_. I could tell by the cocky smile on his face that he knew that one had done the trick.

"So, do you want to be Statler or Waldorf?"

"Which one has the mustache?"

"I have no idea."

"Well _now_ who needs to step up their game?" He put his arm around my shoulder and steered my inside.

After the movie, we left the theater and began walking in no particular direction, "So tell me, does watching a movie that we've already seen qualify as date number three?"

I laughed a little as I nodded; _it was cute that he was counting_.

"Oh! You know what would make this an _excellent_ third date?"

He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, "Uh, oh…"

" _Uh, oh_? What could I possibly say that would be _that_ bad?"

"I dunno… the mind of a Gilmore Girl can be a dangerous thing…"

I offered a face of exaggerated indignation. "And you say _I'm_ the one that can be a real pain in the ass?" He got too much enjoyment out of teasing me.

"Alright, Ace… What would make for an _excellent_ third date?"

I smiled wide and said with quite a bit of enthusiasm, "Ice Cream!"

He laughed at my childish fervor, "Ice cream it is…" He looked over his shoulder toward the street, hailed the cab that was about to drive past us, and led me to it, "Come on, I know a place."

He gave the cab driver an address, and for a second I wondered if he had a master key to a Baskin Robins, but headed uptown and pulled up in front of a very nice building.

"What kind of ice cream place is _this_?" I had a pretty good idea of where this was heading.

"Oh a _very_ exclusive one…"

He took my hand as we walked through the lobby of the building. The man at the concierge desk greeted him with a nod, "Mr. Huntzberger."

As we passed him on the way to the elevator, Logan returned the gesture with a smile, "Tommy."

"An ice cream parlor with a doorman? This _is_ exclusive."

The elevator doors opened in front of us and he pulled me in close to him, "Only the best for you, Ace." He followed up a sly smile and a long kiss.

His hands were on my hips, holding me close to him, but I leaned away with playful skepticism, "Do you _actually_ have ice cream, or is all this just a ploy to get me upstairs?"

He responded in all seriousness, "Would I lie to you about ice cream?"

"I _hope_ not."

He shook his head to affirm my conjecture, before leaning with a smirk and whispering, "Besides, risking that kind of disappointment would completely work against my otherwise entirely dishonorable intentions." The elevator chimed and the doors slid open, but he snuck in one more kiss before we exited.

His was the only door at the end of the hallway. As unlocked the door I found that I felt a little bit nervous. Once I stepped inside there would be no denying that I was stepping back into his world. He led me inside and I looked around, only to become acutely aware to me how different this world is from the one I had recently been occupying. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore…"

Logan had always lived a life of luxury thanks to his family… trust funds, boarding schools, the whole nine yards. But somehow I was more impressed by this… _He had built this all on his own_.

He laughed. "Not bad, huh?"

" _Not bad_? Logan, what happened to ' _still living out of a suitcase_ '?" I followed after him past the stairs, through the dining room, into an impressive kitchen… _It was all impressive._

"I told you, plans changed…" He said it and shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. He tilted his head towards the breakfast bar, "Have a seat."

I sat on one of the stools facing away from the granite counter of the breakfast bar, admiring the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows across the adjacent living room.

I heard the soft clink as he set two bowls on the countertop, "As promised."

When I didn't turn around right away, still entranced by the view, he laughed as he reached across the counter to grab the chair back and spin the stool himself, "Come on Ace, it's gonna melt… I'll give you the grand tour later."

He had undeniably made good on his ice cream promise, complete with sprinkles and chocolate syrup. As I took my last bite he asked, "Satisfied?"

My spoon was still in my mouth when I nodded in response and I could feel that I smeared chocolate on my lip. I began to reach for a napkin from the counter, but he leaned towards me with a grin, "Here, let me get that for you…" before kissing the chocolate off of my lip.

It was a very pleasant surprise. "I must say, this place has excellent service…"

He flashed a smug smile and winked as he cleared our dishes, "Well, we do aim to please."

While he was still in the kitchen I walked across the living room to take a better look at the view. It was spectacular; the epitome of a New York skyline.

I was caught off guard when I felt his arms snake around my waist from behind, but any protest I would have given was halted, abstracted by his lips softly kissing the back of my neck, and then my ear…

I let my head fall against his chest as goose bumps spread down my back. He moved his kisses along my cheek before turning me towards him. He leaned in close, inches away from a full-fledged kiss, his lips close enough to mine so that I could feel it as the curled into what turned out to be a devious smile. He abruptly stopped kissing me and in what was clearly a goading tone, "Ready for that tour now?"

I dramatically dropped my arms from where they had been resting on his shoulders and took a step back from him, "That was just plain _mean_." _I knew this was payback for the other night in my doorway_.

He struggled to keep a straight face, "I don't know _what_ you're talking about?"

"Logan…"

He mimicked my tone, " _Ace_ …"

"You know that's not fair… If we had really just started dating you wouldn't…"

"What? _Know how to tease you_?" He couldn't hide how proud of himself he was anymore, "Hey, you said it yourself, we aren't _actually_ starting from scratch… you cannot hold my previously acquired knowledge against me."

In a futile effort to abate his ego, I attempted an indifferent attitude, " _Fine_ , let's see the place."

Before I could move further away, he pulled me back to him; if it were possible, even closer than we had been before, "You don't _really_ think I'm that mean, do you?"

As hard as I had tried to fight it, I was no match for the Huntzberger charm, "Just kiss me, already…"

He did… He _really_ kissed me. He kissed me across the living room; he kissed me all the way up the stairs; he kissed me into the bedroom and over to the bed. He only stopped kissing me long enough to give me a look, wordlessly asking if _this_ is what I wanted. _It was absolutely what I wanted._

Eventually we found ourselves cuddled beneath the plush bedding, his arm under my head and my hand tracing circles on his bare chest. I couldn't have stopped smiling even if I wanted to, and though the act that had just transpired was definitely smile-worthy, it actually had very little to do with it. Just being this close to him, _being us_ , felt so good; _so right_.

"Care to share with the class?" I hadn't noticed that he was looking at me, and apparently curious as to what had triggered the grin on my face.

"You just give a hell of a tour, that's all…"

He laughed and rolled onto his side to face me. "To be fair, you handed me the edge before we even walked in here tonight…"

" _Oh really_? How do you figure?"

"The ice cream is what actually opened up the playing field…" His trademark smirk snuck across his face. "Junk food has _really_ been working in my favor lately."

I laughed, knowing he was talking about the tacos. "Well, what can I say? I'm a girl of simple pleasures."

He gave me a sweet kiss before lying back against the pillows. I scooted closer to him and rested my head on his chest. I could feel him let out a contented sigh as he ran his fingers through my hair.

After a minute or two of happy silence, his voice broke the quiet, "Ace?"

I had been on the edge of drifting into sleep, "Hmm?"

"Can I tell you something?"

I sat up; awake again, "Is it about your fortune?"

He let out a laugh, clearly amused by my unwillingness to let this one go, "No, it is _not_ about the damn fortune."

"Pleeease? What is the big…"

" _Rory_ …" He still had a big grin on his face, but the use of my real name usually meant he _really_ wanted my attention, so I stopped my whining.

He breathed deep and looked into my eyes, "I love you."

There they were… _those three words_.

The second that I had paused to process must have made him start to worry…

"I know we're supposed to be _dating_ and taking things slow, but I _need_ you to know… I wanted to say it at dinner the other…" I was powerless to stop the smile that now spread across my face, and it made him pause. "What?"

" _I know_. I could see it on your face."

He bit his bottom lip and for a second he almost looked embarrassed.

"You're not _always_ as smooth as you think you are, Huntzberger."

"Well, _now_ you tell me…"

Before we got too far off track on one of our tangents, I kissed him.

"I love you too."

* * *

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - There it is! Rogan as they should be, as far as I'm concerned. Hope you enjoyed their third date, and thank you for the love you've been showing. Keep it up! And the follows and favorites, it means so much! Love to all my lovely readers! xxoo


	16. Chapter 16: Like Sands of the Hourglass

Barely awake, it took me a second to remember where I was… _in Logan's bed_. A noise had pulled me out of deep sleep; I smiled, recalling last night as I rolled over to see that the noise had been Logan closing the closet door.

He noticed that I was stirring. "Shhh. Go back to sleep, Ace."

I looked at him sleepily; he was dressed, except for shoes which he had hooked on his fingers. "What time is it?"

"Quarter to six, I'm sorry I woke you."

 _Quarter to six? Why was he up?_ We had gotten to his apartment at close to two in the morning; after ice cream and… _the rest of the night_ … it must have been well after three by the time we fell asleep. "Where are you going this early?"

He rolled his eyes as he sat down on the edge of the bed to put his shoes on. "Ah… breakfast with _Mitchum_." _How thrilling_. "He just bought a paper in Toronto, so he's heading out there for a couple of weeks to do his usual turnaround. He made sure to schedule a meeting with me before he left to make sure we were ' _on track_ ' with everything."

 _Damn Mitchum_ … Logan had moved to the dresser, putting his watch on. "You knew you had to be up this early? You should have sent me home last night."

He turned around and looked at me for a second before walking back towards the bed and leaning down to kiss me. With his hand cradling my head he made sure to look me in the eyes, "Ace, I wouldn't trade last night for anything."

I smiled. "Are you coming back?"

He sighed and looked disappointed, "Probably not, I'm supposed to meet the rest of the board at the office to relay whatever vital information my father has for us."

 _If he's not coming back I should head home_. I started to get out of bed, but he pulled the covers back over me, "I'm serious, Ace… stay in bed; go back to sleep. There's coffee downstairs when you're ready; and there's towels and stuff in the bathroom if you want to shower or whatever. Take your time."

He kissed my forehead before returning to the dresser. "Hey, what are you doing tonight?"

"Uh…"I was still half asleep; I had to think about it before I remembered, _it's Saturday_. "I'm supposed to meet up with Leslie… It seems she's been feeling somewhat neglected, with someone else monopolizing so much of my time this week."

"Well, I'm sorry to be such a _burden_." He grinned, knowing I had been kidding. "Well, if you're up for it, Finn's in town, and I haven't see Colin since I've been back in the city, so we're putting the band back together… you guy's should meet us."

I thought for a moment about how dangerous it could be to put Leslie in the boys' crosshairs, but it might be fun to see them. I nodded, but couldn't stop a yawn from escaping as I did.

"Go back to sleep… I'll see you tonight."

He started to walk to the door, before turning back to the bed one more time. He had a big smile on his face, like he was really going to enjoy what he said next, "I love you."

Now the smile was on my face as he kissed me. "I love you, too."

He leaned his forehead against my for a second before he actually had to leave; he heard me yawn again as he walked out, and called from the stairs, " _Sleep, Ace…"_

 _This bed is awfully comfortable_ … I laid back with the intention of closing my eyes for a few minutes, but woke up an hour and a half later. I stayed in bed for a couple minutes longer, thinking about everything that had happened in the last eight or so hours. I guess we might have skipped ahead a bit in the _dating_ plan, but it didn't matter anymore. Things were exactly what I had hoped for… _It was right_.

Remembering what he had said about coffee, I made my way downstairs. I found another of his notes by the warm coffee pot,

" _Hate that I had to leave you this morning. Make yourself at home."_

He had also left instructions that I could call downstairs and have the doorman arrange a car to take me home when I was ready. I shook my head as I poured myself a cup of coffee… _the man certainly knew how to treat a girl._

I realized I had left my phone in my purse last night, and figured I should check it... _The real world was still out there_. I had two missed calls from Leslie.

I took my phone and my coffee into the living room and curled up in one of the cushy chairs. I called Leslie back and she answered with a groggy ' _Hello_?' I had obviously woken her up, but she would be more upset about me not telling her than she would be for having disturbed her beauty sleep.

"Guess where I am…"

I heard a gasp and sure enough, she was totally alert when she replied, "Naked in Logan's bed?"

Still in his sweatshirt that he had provided me with the night before, I had to be honest, "Half naked… in his living room."

"Bow chicka wow wow!"

" _Really_?"

"What? It's about time… So, was it awkward, like your first time all over again?"

It had _definitely_ not been awkward. "It was… great."

"I _knew_ he was good in bed."

" _Leslie_!"

"Am I _wrong_?"

She couldn't see the ' _of course not'_ look on my face, but she took my silence as a response.

"So, did you sneak out of bed to call me, or what?"

" _No_ … He had to go to work."

"Work? Are you kidding? No post-coital cuddles or anything? Is this going to be a _thing_?"

"It's not a _thing_ … He's just busy."

"What now? Are you waiting for him or what?"

"Not really… He let early this morning and told me to go back to sleep, so I did."

"So, you're just hanging out there by yourself?"

"Yea, for a little while…"

" _Ugh_. A hot millionaire ravishes you and then gives you free reign over his place. Is it fabulous? Oh, can I come over?"

I ignored her crude comment that made it sound like I hooked up with some random guy for his money, but looked around and agreed, "It's pretty fabulous; and _no_ , I am not inviting you over to someone else's' apartment. _But_ he did suggest that we meet up with him and some old friends tonight. Interested?"

"Hell yea. Are we going somewhere fabulous?"

If she kept using that word it was going to lose all meaning. Besides, knowing the three of them, and the fact that they were celebrating being reunited, it was probably a safe bet that they would avoid any place where they might garner too much attention, or get themselves into trouble. "Doubtful… also, in the interest of full disclosure, there is a _pretty_ good chance that one or both of these guys might try to pick you up."

" _Excellent_." _Why would I have expected any different?_ "What time?"

"I don't know yet, I'll call you later."

After I hung up with Leslie I meandered my way through the apartment, though I guess _penthouse_ would be the more appropriate word. It really was ' _fabulous'…_ huge windows, a patio outside, an office, two more bedrooms… plus I'm pretty sure my whole apartment could fit inside the bathroom upstairs. _Totally different worlds._

One thing I did notice was that other than the kitchen and the bedroom, the place looked pretty much unlived in. I know he couldn't have moved in more than a week ago, but it was clear that he wasn't spending much time at home. _Long hours and late nights at the office, the trademark of a Huntzberger_.

I took up the offer of a hot shower before I left, but elected to walk the couple of blocks to the subway to get home, figuring I should make the transition back to reality. _I should call Mom._ We'd both been busy during the week, so other than a few quick updates we hadn't really had a chance to talk since I explained the whole dating thing.

When I got home I checked my email and snacked on a PB&J, before settling in with a cup of coffee to call her.

"Hey, hun." She was struggling with something in the background, "Here…"

"Rory!"

She had handed the phone off to Landon, "Hey, bud! How's it going?"

I did my best to decipher his two-year-old speak… _Easier to do in person than over the phone._ Between what I heard from Landon and the struggling I could hear in the background I deduced they were trying to take Paul Anka for a walk.

"…but no stairs… Oh! Bye!"

"Bye, Landon!" I laughed to myself as Mom took the phone back.

"Still not liking the stairs, huh?"

"Yea… Oddly enough, it's only the outside stairs, he has no problem inside. I don't understand it."

"To be fair, a lot of people don't understand you, so it seems fitting..."

"I guess. So, what's up, Doc?"

"We haven't really had a chance to talk this week, and…"

"Ah, _like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of our Lives…_ "

I waited to see if she was finished…

" _Sorry…_ I have a two year old and an inn, you guys are the only soap opera I have time for these days. Are you ready to talk to Luke yet?"

"Well… I should get around to it at some point."

"Over taking it slow, already?" She was clearly intrigued, but I didn't want to admit yet that she had been right about the dating situation not lasting long… When I didn't respond she took it upon herself to continue, "Honey, we both knew this was going to happen. To be honest, a week is longer than I expected you to hold out. What did you make it like _two dates_?"

"Three, actually."

"Three dates in a week? Well, at least you crammed several baby steps into your courtship. So how serious are we talking?"

"I think it qualifies as pretty serious."

" _Pretty_ serious? Did you…" She trailed off, alluding to a topic unsuitable for Landon's two year old ears.

"I just got home from our date last night."

" _Bow chicka wow wow…"_ _I really need to vary the types of people I hang out with._

"Mom, _please_ … Besides that not what I meant."

"More serious than _bow chicka wow wow_?"

"He told me he loves me."

"Like, said it out loud?"

"Yea."

"You okay? You said you weren't ready for that before. Did you say it back?

I smiled to myself thinking about this morning as he left for his meeting, "I did. Things are different than I expected I guess… We're different."

" _Good_ different?"

"Really good." I was processing all of this as I was talking to her; moments like this made me very appreciative of the whole mother-daughter-best friend thing we have working for us. "He was so okay with things when I told him I didn't want to dive in where we left off; and took me out to dinner the other night and finally told me everything about what's going on in his life, which… well, that is a _whole_ other conversation. We still have everything we did, but we're..."

"Better?"

"Yea."

"I get it. Luke and I had to royally screw things up before we could make it work. We had to figure out how to make our lives work together, and to be honest with each other… The two of you just took the screwing things up part to a _whole_ other level."

" _Nice_."

" _Well_? The two of you have always found a way to make things dramatic."

I guess she's right, but so far, we've pretty much been drama-free.

"So what happens now?"

"Honestly, I don't know. This was kind of a big step..."

" _Huge_ … Neil Armstrong would have had a tough time with that step."

"… I guess we just see where it goes? Things are going so well, I don't want to mess them up now with any presumptions."

"Okay, kid. Just make sure you're being honest with each other… and _yourself_. Enjoy what you've got going on, but make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons."

"Thanks, Mom."

"All in a day's work."

Speaking of work, I had some of my own to do. In my bliss, I had temporarily abandoned my excitement about the news from Dominic yesterday. _I had some article spinning to do_. I pulled out my laptop and rededicated to making use of my day.

An hour later I got a call from Logan.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Oh, now that he's had his fill of hearing his own voice, Mitchum is finally on his way to the Great White North."

I pulled out my best, _read: terrible_ , Canadian accent, "He took off, eh?"

Never one to miss an opportunity to tease me, he laughed, "Nice try, Ace."

"It was worth a shot… So how _did_ things with your dear, old dad go?"

"Well, I'm actually on my way to our board meeting now, but I'll fill you in later. I was just calling about tonight."

 _Is he cancelling_? From the look of his place, I gathered that all this success meant very little time for a life, and it would probably only get worse being back with HPG. It's not like we had big plans, but I really wanted keep enjoying our little bubble for a little longer before real life got in the way.

I readied myself for the possible disappointment, "What's up?"

"Nothing really, just thinking that maybe we should meet at McConnell's, give you girls home court advantage…"

I was glad we were still on for tonight, but was 'home court advantage' really necessary? "Why? Should I be worried about something?"

"This _is_ Colin and Finn we're talking about…"

"Fair point. McConnell's sounds good."

"8:30?"

"Sure."

"And you might want to warn Leslie of what she's walking into…"

"Already taken care of."

"Beauty _and_ brains… Do I know how to pick 'em, or what?"

"Well, you have always had _quite_ the eye for women."

He was practically speechless, initially only able to muster half a laugh in response. I surprised myself a little with the boldness of the statement, poking fun of him for his past exploits. Even I was aware that it was somewhat out of character for me, though I took it as a good sign that I was feeling comfortable around him again.

"Well, on _that_ note… I guess I'll just…"

" _Come on, Logan_ …"

He relented, knowing that I hadn't meant any harm, "Yea, yea… _Alright_. See you tonight, Ace."

After hanging up with Logan, I sent Leslie a text, " _8:30 at McConnell's."_

" _Meet at my place?"_

" _Roger_."

I still had the rest of the afternoon to get some work done. I was trying not to get my hopes up too much; even if they liked it enough to take the rights, chances were slim that it would make it to print. When I finally called it a day I wasn't _quite_ finished, but I made enough progress that I would have it ready for Dominic Monday morning.

As per the plan I headed over to Leslie's. She wanted more juicy details from the night before, but I refrained from sharing much after the ice cream.

"Oh, you're _no_ fun…"

"Just call me Mrs. Grundy."

Leslie was fussing with her makeup when it occurred to me to ask a question that had been plaguing me for several days now, "Why are you so okay with this?"

"With what?"

"With me and Logan. What did he say to you on the phone that night? One minute you're threatening medieval torture, and the next you're partners in crime."

She closed her tube of lip gloss, sat across the table from me and sighed...

"Okay, you can't tell him that I told you, because I was sworn to secrecy."

I held up three fingers, "Scout's honor."

"He confessed his undying devotion to you." She picked up her lip gloss again and was about to get back to it, but that couldn't have been it.

"Les, _come on_ …"

" _I'm serious_. I thought that all of this was just dredging up old feelings and going to turn into one big mess that ended with you getting your heart broken all over again, but he made it pretty clear that that was not what he intended."

"And that's it? God knows he's charming, Leslie, but you pretty much did a 180."

"Rory… _He told me that he loved you_. That he never stopped loving you. That leaving you was the biggest mistake of his life… and not a like cheesy, rom-com confession sort of way, even though that's kind of how this has played out. He said it like…" She thought for a second, "Like his only goal in life is to make you happy. I had no choice but to believe him."

I had to laugh, "He Huntzberger'd you."

" _What_?"

It was a power both he and his father had, though I much preferred Logan's charming approach to Mitchum's intimidation.

"Nothing, he just knows how to get what he wants…" I smiled to myself, knowing that what he told her was more than a move to get Leslie on his side.

"Hey, you haven't told me how your blind date went."

" _Ugh_ , nothing to tell."

"It was _that_ bad?"

"Let's just say, that you're lucky things seem to be working out between the two of you, because pickings are _slim_ for the rest of us."

I knew I was lucky, especially if things keep going the way they have been. She finally stood up and got back to getting ready.

"So anyway, these 'old friends' we're meeting tonight…"

"Ah yes, Colin and Finn."

"And are they friends of _yours_ or _his_?"

"Well, there was a short time when they _might_ have qualified as _ours_ , but they are definitely _his_ friends."

"And they…"

"…Are nothing but trouble." I was mostly joking. Despite their penchants for idiotic antics and drunken pursuits of females, I had always had a soft spot for them. They made Logan happy, and were parcel to the adventure that came as part of being with him.

"Well _alright_ then… Let's go!"

We walked into McConnell's to find the boys standing around a bar table. We began to approach them, but before we even got close, Colin's voice rang above the crowd, "Well, well, well, if it isn't the one that got away!" as he hand Finn met us in the middle of the bar.

Finn chimed in, "And God are we glad you're back, Love. This sad soul was no good to us after you broke his heart… all work and no play."

Leave it to these two to make light of what it has taken Logan and I _years_ to figure out. Regardless, I was happy to see them, and we shared hugs before I started introductions.

"Leslie, this is Colin and this…" True to form, Finn swooped in, took Leslie's hand, and kissed it, "It's an honor."

She made the connection for herself, "This must be _Finn_."

"Ah! I see my reputation precedes me!" He turned to Les and pretended to whisper, "Whatever she's told you, it's a lie…"

"Alright, Finn, stand down…" Logan finally intervened in this exchange, "…besides, she's blonde. What about your redheads?"

He sighed dramatically, "Oh, I've finally sworn off them, once and for all. Scarlet maidens are nothing but walking misery."

Leslie's eyes were wide as she looked at me, beginning to understand what I may have meant when I described them. To say the least, she was amused. We followed them back to the table as Finn shouted to Sam at the bar, "Good sir, drinks for these lovely ladies, if you please."

"Hey, you." Logan put his arm around my waist and kissed me.

"Hi…"

It was an innocent kiss, but all members of our company exchanged glances with raised eyebrows.

Eager to take the attention away from us, I inquired, "So Finn, if you've sworn off redheads, what _have_ you been doing?"

"Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that, wasting my father's hard earned money… basically my life's ambition…"

Leslie was astonished by his cavalier attitude.

"…but you know, now that the gang's all here, maybe I should put down some roots."

With a hint of actual sincerity as he took a drink of his beer, Logan offered, "I don't know if New York can handle you on a permanent basis."

"If Colin can do it, then so can I!"

"Oh that's right, Colin I hear you've got a grown up job and everything these days?"

"Yes and what a _thrill_ it is… Who would have thought that a topless blonde and that pesky Ivy League education would be my undoing?" I think that he was less disappointed about growing up a little than he pretended to be.

Leslie had caught up with the banter, "So you all went to Yale together, right?"

Logan laughed, "If you're using the term 'went' loosely. Rory is the only one here who graduated in a timely manner."

Colin qualified, "The rest of us were busy living our glory days."

Finn raised his glass, which at this point was already mostly empty, "To the glory days! In Omni Paratus!"

Les looked at me, obviously lost.

"Ready for anything."

"You know _Latin_?"

Translating Latin was not a skill that I call upon very often so I wasn't surprised that she was a little cynical. I shrugged, "Prep school."

"Oooh." She mocked being impressed, but followed it up with a smile. As part of our pact to start fresh we had spent very little time talking about trivial bits of our past, like school details, but I did know that she had gone to public high school and worked her way through Chicago State. In my book, just as impressive as having your rich families pay for fancy school. I think it was safe to say that tonight might be a bit of a culture shock for her.

Prompted by Finn's toast, the three of them fell into recounting their Life and Death brigade tales, happy to have a new person to impress with their stories, which ended up including the event in which I was convinced to jump off of seven-story high scaffolding.

" _What_? No way!" She looked at me, clearly shocked.

" _Oh no_ , you haven't been holding out on her, have you Ace?"

I had spent most of the time during their story telling shaking my head and commenting on how ridiculous they had been, but now that _I_ had been called out, I bit my lip and shut up. Leslie looked at me first, but when I volunteered no information, she looked to the boys.

"Ace here held her own with us. All night poker games, big parties…" _This was going to be trouble._ I found myself very fascinated with the contents of my drink, not taking my eyes away from the glass.

"She threw at least one bash herself, a right proper send off for her beloved, on the eve of his departure across the pond." _Finn and his dramatics_.

Colin, who had also had plenty to drink by this point, chimed in, "And she stole a boat!"

"Colin!"

"A _yacht_ , actually…"

"Finn!"

" _Rory_!" Leslie was in disbelief. My record had officially been expunged of that particular incident, and I had hoped that it was far behind me _. I was going to kill those two_.

I looked to Logan for him to come to my defense but he was staring into his beer laughing with the other boys, fully aware that he had started this. When he saw my look, he acted defensive.

" _What_? Honestly I'm surprised you hadn't told her." Then his smirk showed up, and I should have known he was only going to make it worse, "Besides… what's _one_ night in jail in the grand scheme of things?"

" _Logan_!"

" _Jail_?!"

Leslie was really getting excited about all of this. I _needed_ to put a stop to their ganging up on me.

" _First_ of all, my record is clean. _Secondly_ , I did not act alone in the yacht incident…" I eyed Logan accusatorily; he merely shrugged his shoulders trying to look like an innocent bystander. "…and _third_ , I would argue that my biggest accomplishment in my tenure with this group is being able to take at least partial credit for you all _living_ to tell these tales."

The boys fell silent for a second before erupting into a toast, "To Rory!"

I put my head in my hands, "I'm glad you're all so amused by my past digressions."

" _Amused_? I'm impressed." _Of course she is._

"Come on, Ace… Being a bad influence on you was pretty much my biggest achievement at Yale."

Colin confirmed to Leslie, "It's true."

"And really, Love..." Finn waved his glass about the table,"… what fun would your life have been if fine gentlemen such as ourselves hadn't stormed in and rescued you from the doldrums of normalcy?"

Leslie looked at Finn, "He's pretty eloquent for being several beers in."

Logan corrected her "Don't let him fool you; he's had _lots_ of practice… Let's get him a chair before he falls over."

With that we moved our little party to a table towards the back, and Sam brought another round of drinks.

Colin was engrossed in a story Finn was telling about one of his latest trips, but Leslie wasn't ready to move past my past. She looked at Logan first, "You are totally right…" Then she looked at me, "You have _so_ been holding out on me… You were in _jail_? I can't believe you didn't tell me about any of this."

I shook my head, "Would you have _believed_ me?"

"Probably not, but _still_ … I can't believe you guys got _away_ with all of this stuff…"

Thankfully that got the boys started in on more stories about the trouble they had gotten themselves into and barely gotten out of…

In the meantime I got Logan's attention, _"Thanks for that…"_

"Oh come on. She's your best friend; she has a right to know about your wild child days, even if it was only a very brief period of your life. You're not _actually_ mad, are you?"

" _No_ , I'm not mad. But all of _this_ is totally foreign to her. She did grow up in the crazy world you guys did."

" _Us?_ I'm having déjà vu here, Ace, because I think we've had this conversation before, and established that _you_ fall into that world too." Thankfully this discussion about the subject was much more lighthearted than the last had been.

"But I didn't _grow up_ in it… I kind of got dumped into it, and she and I _certainly_ don't live in it now." I thought back to that morning, how my apartment could easily fit in Logan's bathroom.

He gave me a look, and I knew exactly what it meant. _If he and I were back together I was back in that world._

"It's just…"

" _Complicated_." He joined in as I finished my sentence.

Finn had finally noticed the sidebar we had been having, "I'm sorry are we boring the two of you over there?"

Logan laughed but kept looking at me, "We _know_ all your stories, Finn."

Before rejoining the group's conversation he put his hand on my knee, "We'll figure it out, Ace."

I could relax knowing that he understood; that it was just one more complication in our lives. And thankfully, as conversation and drinks flowed over the course of the evening, it became apparent that Leslie was more infatuated than appalled by everything she was learning about _that_ world. Before long it really did feel like old times; it was nice.

By the time we were headed down the alley outside of the bar Finn was once again making passes at Leslie, who was drunk enough to be flattered by it, while Colin was trying to be the voice of reason between the two. Logan and I were following a few steps behind.

"I really should get her home before she lets Finn do something she'll regret."

"Come on, they're semi-responsible adults… Besides, I kinda thought _I_ would be the one taking _you_ home tonight…" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Logan…"

He conceded, " _Fine_. At least call me when you get home."

I smiled, "I will."

"Like when you're actually _in_ your apartment, door locked…"

"Ha. Ha."

"I really am going to get you a pad lock for that place… or maybe a guard dog."

"Okay, _fine_. I will call you when I'm safely locked in my tower."

"I only worry because…"

"I know."

He met my sarcastically annoyed face with a sincere smile. "I love you."

I know he had said it to me a million times before, but since last night, when he said it I got that silly, fluttery feeling, like it was brand new all over again. I couldn't help but smile when he pulled me in for a kiss.

Suddenly the banter had stopped and the peanut gallery at the end of the alley had taken to hollering at us and whistling.

I bit my bottom lip and Logan groaned as we turned around, caught red handed by the friends we had thought were too drunk to notice. I was glad they were all getting along, but it really was time to get them home.

We parted ways when we got to the street, taking those we were responsible for in our respective cabs.

I took Leslie back to my place rather than leave her to her own devices. After a slight struggle getting up the stairs, I gave her some aspirin, got her to drink a bottle of water, and let her fall asleep on the couch.

I grabbed my phone to make good on my promise to Logan.

"Hey, did you get Leslie home already?"

"No, she's already asleep on my couch."

"Imagine that… Finn is passed out on the living room floor; at least Colin made it to a bed."

I laughed at the thought, "Just like the old days…"

"In the old days I would have been right there with them."

" _True_ … I did have fun tonight, though."

"I'm glad, but I still stand by having rather taken you home than these two."

"Good to know… Hey, I forgot to tell you something before."

"What?"

"I love you too."

There was a pause, but I knew he was smiling on the other end of the line.

"Goodnight, Ace."

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - A nice long chapter for all of my loyal readers... I hope you enjoy; and you know the drill! Follow, Favorite and Comment! xxoo


	17. Chapter 17: Hartford is Going to Flip

"Why in _God's_ name are you awake?"

"Good morning, Sunshine."

Leslie was _definitely_ feeling last night. When she rolled herself off of the couch it was after 11 and I had already been up working on my article for Dominic for a several hours.

"Is there coffee?"

"Does a tree grow in Brooklyn?"

" _Too_ early."

"Hey, I warned you. Those two are nothing but trouble."

She mustered half a smile as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down, "Look who's talking."

I rolled my eyes. I should have known better than to think that we would be done talking about this. "I thought we finished this conversation last night."

"I was _drunk_ last night, and learning about the exploits that you so egregiously failed to mention over the course of our friendship deserves a semi-sober recap."

"I think the boys pretty much covered it all…"

"Come on. _You owe me_. Lying to me for the last three years…"

"I did not _lie_ to you."

She put her mug down on the table rather forcefully, "Rory, for as long as I've known you it has taken serious arm twisting to get you to come out for anything more than a couple of martinis after work, and _now_ I come to find out that you were once a felonious party animal?"

"I was _hardly_ a party animal. And I will _not_ abide the felonious moniker; that was _one_ time. Besides, maybe I've just outgrown it…"

She eyed me skeptically, "Or _maybe_ you have been missing you're partner in _literal_ crime."

I knew what she was alluding to, "You heard Colin and Finn… He's no fun anymore either."

"You're conveniently leaving out a _pivotal_ factor… he stopped being fun when _you_ stopped being in his life."

"He was _building a company_. He finally got his priorities in order, which is more than I can say for Colin and Finn. The fact that _my_ absence put a stop to his hard-partying ways is pure supposition."

She gave me a ' _Really_?' look, because she and I both knew there might actually be something to that theory, but I wasn't about to admit it.

"Look, when Logan and I met we were polar opposites. In fact, our first real conversation was actually an argument. He was an ass. _But_ once we started to get to know each other it became less about one of us being right, and more like…" I was searching for the right word… " _Challenging_ each other. He challenged me to be more adventurous, and I challenged him to be more motivated. Sometimes it was frustrating and sometimes I worried that we tried to change each other too much, but for whatever reason it worked for us."

She thought for a second, "So, you're admitting that his influence on you wasn't _all_ bad?"

"I may have done some _stupid_ things with Logan, but no… it wasn't all bad." _Some of it was pretty great, even._

"And _he's_ made it pretty clear that your influence on him is more or less responsible for everything he's done with his life."

 _As if that wasn't a lot of pressure to put on a person_. "He doesn't give himself enough credit."

"So, you balance each other out."

I nodded. That's exactly what we did. "We just found parts of each other we didn't necessarily know we had."

She just smiled at me for a second; she got it. But only a moment later she was back to her usual self, "Well, aren't you two just _sickening_?"

" _Hey_!"

"You're unbelievable… like a freaking Nicholas Sparks book. As I said yesterday, there's not hope for the rest of us."

All of this was pretty implausible… to have made so many mistakes and be apart for so long, but end up in the same place, and still fit together so well… _better even_. That's when my phone rang and my mother's number flashed on the screen. I came back to reality with one final thought; Logan and I fit together, but it wasn't going to be easy for us to fit into everything else in our lives.

I held up my phone to show Leslie that it was my mom calling so she got up, "I'm out… See you tomorrow."

I waved to her as I answered the phone.

"So I'm thinking that the two of you should come have dinner at the diner Friday night… Let Luke in on the details…"

" _Friday night_? You wouldn't be trying to get out of another Gilmore dinner, would you?"

"It was just a suggestion… Oh! You could always bring Logan to the Gilmore's and spring this on them as a surprise. That would almost be better than not going at all."

 _Yikes_. We would definitely need to handle the Gilmores, but not like that. "Oh yea, I'm sure that would go over well."

" _Again_ , just a suggestion… but I would kill to see the look on my mother's face when she finds out."

Just the thought of telling my grandparents made me anxious, "How _do_ you think they'll react to us?"

"I imagine it going one of two ways… Option one: They fawn all over the two of you, thrilled that their prized golden couple has been reunited and anxiously awaiting another proposal. You know Grandma was devastated that you turned him down; she loved rubbing the two of you in her snooty friends' faces… But on the other hand there's option two: pulling a total _Meet the Parents_. I can hear it now, _"How dare you come waltzing in here, after what you did to our granddaughter; ambushing her in front of all of our friends and then just taking off…"_ If anybody knows how to put a social miscreant through the ringer it's Emily Gilmore."

"Thanks for that, Mom. They both sound like _fantastic_ options."

"Well, better the first than the second. I think it would be preferable to have her breathing down your neck than wringing it."

I sighed audibly, "Just another thing to add to the list."

"Trouble in paradise already?"

"Not between us, but I'm becoming increasingly aware of how complicated this is all going to be. Our families, and work, and back to straddling the line between two completely different lifestyles…"

"No one said this was going to be easy, Hun."

"I know… I'm just afraid that when we step out of the little bubble we've been in for the last two weeks, that it's just going to be too much."

"You're going to have to face the music sometime. Start with Luke. I'm like ninety percent sure I've got him talked down from homicidal…"

She was trying to make me laugh, but I all I could muster was a chuckle… I _really_ didn't want to leave our bubble.

"…We'll deal with the grandparents together."

"And the _Huntzbergers_?" That was going to be the biggest challenge of them all.

"You're certainly going to be walking into the lion's den there. But on the bright side, at least you'll know."

"At least I'll know what? _How much they hate me?_ I already have a pretty good idea."

" _You'll know how much he loves you_. If he's really going to stand up to his ass-hat family, then you know he's meant everything that he's said; that he's in it for the long haul."

 _Wow._ I had been so determined to take things slow, that I hadn't let myself think about the _long haul_ , but I guess that if we're serious, that's really where we're headed…

"So what do you think, come to home this weekend? Logan won't have to sneak into the house in the middle of the night this time..."

 _The bubble has to pop at some point_ … "I'll check with him."

"Okay, kid… I've got to get going; the wedding is back on track for this afternoon."

"Finally caught _Julia Roberts_ , huh?"

"Yep, found her out by the stables… pretty cliché if you ask me."

I could hear Sookie in the background yelling to someone about crab cakes, so I let Mom go play mediator, and got back to my work.

Late in the evening I realized that I had barely eaten, so I called up Gino's and ordered a pizza. Thirty minutes later there was a knock at my door. I opened it only to find Logan, standing outside the door, holding my pizza.

"Moonlighting as a delivery guy? That how you afford the new digs?"

He shrugged his shoulders with a smile, "People tip well."

"Clearly _I_ chose the wrong profession."

He kissed me as I let him into the apartment.

"I was coming to ask if you wanted to go to dinner, but I saw the delivery guy in the hall and intercepted your pizza."

" _Very sneaky, sis."_

He turned to put the pizza on the table, but found it to be buried under my laptop and stacks of research.

"Working on your plan to take over the free world?"

"One article at a time…"

I led him over to the couch and put the pizza box on the coffee table, grabbed a couple of plates, and sat down next to him.

"So, what has you working on a Sunday night?"

"My freelance piece… The impact of the Saudi Arabia conflicts on global oil prices."

"Ah, some light reading."

"Yea… Dominic found some interest, but it needed a little retooling. He wants it tomorrow morning before he sends it out."

"Did he tell you who's looking? Anyone big?"

I thought about telling him about the offer from The Times, but I was still trying not to get my hopes up. "We'll see. It's my first freelance piece, so who knows what will happen…"

"Well, if nobody picks it up, I do know of one or two publications that _might_ be interested in a Rory Gilmore byline…"

I put down my pizza. It really was time we start tackling some of these hurdles. " _Logan_..."

"I was just kidding, Ace. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."

"It's not that, I just… I've been giving it a lot of thought and I really want to keep _us_ and my career separate."

He looked surprised.

"It's just another thing that's going to complicate our relationship, you know? If people at work find out we're together, everything is going to be about the fact that I'm dating Logan Huntzberger instead of actual work… I'm just not ready for people to know."

"Rory, people are going to know."

I knew he was right. I couldn't be with one of the partners of an industry giant and not have people notice, especially if this was for _the long haul_.

"Not yet. Please?"

He considered for a moment, "Alright, Ace… But you're going to have to let me brag about you eventually." He winked and leaned in for a kiss.

I was almost ready to let him keep kissing me, when I remembered that he had promised to fill me in on his meeting with Mitchum the day before. I really was curious to see how this new dynamic would play out between them, being partners rather than boss and employee.

"Hey, you never told me about your meeting… What did your dad have to say?"

Logan rolled his eyes. "Oh, the usual Mitchum crap… Making sure we have our _ducks in a row_ before we can officially start the merger. It will be a couple more weeks before we've fully transitioned to our new offices, and we're actually in the process of acquiring another account that will have to be finalized before things get serious. I've got a good team set up to manage the West Coast, but I want to make sure things are running smooth before Mitchum joins the board…"

I sat there listening to him and I found myself smiling. He was so on top of things, and in control of what was happening. I always knew he had the potential to do whatever he wanted, but I couldn't help but be impressed.

He stopped talking when he saw the look on my face, "What?"

" _Nothing._ You're just… I'm proud of you." I kissed him, as my own personal form of recognition of his accomplishment.

He finished telling me about the new deal they were working on, and what Mitchum's plans were for announcing the merger while we finished our pizza. I would have been happy to stay where we were, sitting close on the couch and talking, but I had an article to finish.

"I should get back to work… got to make sure it's ready for copy before nine."

"Well, I'll get out of your way then. _Don't want to interfere with your work."_

I glared at him.

"I'm _kidding_. I promise to remain as removed from you career as I can be, for as long as possible."

" _Thank you_."

"And, speaking of things that should be put off as long as possible… what are you doing Wednesday?"

His tone was beginning to worry me, "I don't know… Why?"

"Well, I may have let our _dating_ situation slip to Honor the other day and she wants us to meet up with her and Josh for dinner."

Now I was really worried, "You told Honor? Does that mean that your…?"

" _God no_. She's smart enough to know not to get in the middle of that conversation. I was talking to her yesterday and she asked if I'd been enjoying being back in the city. I told her that I had, more than I thought I would, and you know Honor, give her an inch…" He alluded to his sister's impressive power of squeezing information out of people.

"Then I'm in…" _Excellent bargaining chip_ , "But only if you can swing coming to dinner in Stars Hollow on Saturday."

" _Stars Hollow_? Does your mother need me to inform her of my intentions with you?"

"Not my mother… Luke."

He sighed, " _Luke."_ Now he was the one who looked nervous, but only for a second. "Well, that's bound to be an easier conversation than my family. Saturday it is, then."

I was glad he agreed. It would be better for Luke to hear about us from Logan than from me… _Maybe he'll be more accepting if he can see how serious Logan is about us_.

I put the finishing touches on my article late that night, and sent my mom a text before I went to sleep to let her know that she should in fact expect us for Saturday.

The first thing I did Monday morning was messenger my revised article to Dominic's office. I was more anxious about it now than ever. He told me that he would call me when he heard from his friend at The Times, to let me know what they thought… _It's out of my hands; all I can do now is wait and see if they hate it._

Every time the phone rang for the next day and a half I jumped, expecting it to be Dominic. I had heard from Leslie, wanted to meet up for lunch since she was out of the office; from my mother, about the upcoming weekend; and from Logan, about Wednesday's plans.

By Tuesday afternoon I had submitted a first draft of my initial piece for the space shuttle series; I had gotten more research done, including quotes from former NASA employees about the importance of the final launch; and I had almost given up hope about hearing back from The Times.

As fate would have it, Dominic called just before I was heading into a late meeting.

"I've got good news, Gilmore."

I couldn't hide the excitement in my voice, "They _want_ it?"

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, but they took the rights…" _The New York Times took the rights to my article_! "Remember, taking the rights doesn't necessarily mean anything more than that. You know how this game works. It will have to get through copy over there before a features editor will even see it. Then it's up to content, space and what the rest of your competition is to decide whether it sees print."

" _Right_... Thanks for the reality check." _Way to be a buzz kill._

"Gilmore, even if they don't print it, this is a good thing. It gets your name on the radar over there, and there's always a thousand other places to push your work. The agency is impressed that you've got a shot with The Times at all… they're going to want to see more of your stuff."

It was encouraging to hear, but I was very much aware of how hard it was going to be to be rejected by The Times, yet again.

"If they use it, it will probably run in Thursday's edition. I should get word by Wednesday night about what to expect and I'll give you a call."

 _Breathe_. I had to get through the meeting, and I'm sure I would have editing to do tomorrow, plus dinner with Honor and Josh… I had plenty to keep me occupied until Wednesday night.

The next morning when Leslie asked about whether or not I had heard from Dominic I was purposefully vague. I still hadn't told anyone about the prospect of being in The Times. I didn't want to jinx it, and with only a slim chance, I didn't want to risk extra disappointment if it didn't happen.

As expected, I had notes on my article waiting at my desk after lunch that afternoon, but every hour or so I found myself staring at the phone, willing it to ring. _He said he would call Wednesday night_. After repeatedly reminding myself that I could not make him call me any sooner, I was able to finish up for the day in time to head home and change for dinner.

I was still a little nervous to be seeing anyone from Logan's family, but I had always liked Honor. She, like Logan, had been raised a _Huntzberger_ – as part of an image, rather than an actual family. The difference between the two of them was that Logan was forced into being groomed to take over the family business, while she was only expected to uphold the dignity of the family name. Of anyone in their family, she was the only one who had ever been genuinely nice to me. Mitchum tolerated me for a while, but only because he thought I was a good influence on his son. Now that my ' _influence'_ has caused him to lose the formerly oppressive upper hand in their relationship, I'm sure that his attitude toward me would not be quite as civil.

As per the plan, Logan was at my door at six, ready to pick me up for dinner. I was _almost_ ready when he knocked so I let him in while I finished with my hair.

"Come on, Ace. You always look great..."

"Give me two seconds…" I tucked one last pin into the back of my hair, "Done!"

" _Finally_!" He was exaggerating. It was only five after when we left the apartment, which was practically early as far as I was concerned.

"Not used to having to wait for people these days?"

"No, actually: it's amazing how prompt people can be when their jobs could be on the line." Never one to take anything seriously when we were younger, he still did a good job of pretending to be cavalier. I knew the way his father ran his company, and if Mitchum had said that I would have taken him seriously, but from the way he talked I had a feeling that Logan conducted business very differently than his father.

"Well, I'm sorry to cause _such_ an inconvenience…"

He smirked and with a kiss assured me, "It was worth the wait."

Logan held my hand as we walked into the restaurant, toward the table that the host had directed us to. Honor was already there with Josh, and the wide-eyed, open-mouthed smile she had on her face when she saw us put my nerves at bay.

" _Oh my God_. I just can't get over this!"

"Settle down, Honor." Logan gave his sister a kiss on the cheek before she wrapped me in an overwhelming hug.

"Rory, I just can't believe you're here. I mean, Logan said you guys were… well, anyway, it's just so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too; it's been a long time."

As we sat down, Honor continued very enthusiastically. "Too long… but to be honest, I wasn't sure if we'd ever see you again. Really, after the stunt he pulled he's lucky you saw him at all."

"Very lucky." _Logan, always quick with the charm._

"I lost track of how many times I told him to call you after that whole mess, but you know how stubborn he is…"

Logan rolled his eyes at his sister, "Yes, we've established that."

"…honestly, Rory, I almost killed him for walking away like that. You are the best thing that ever happened to him."

This time he looked at me and put his hand on my knee, "That has also been well established."

I felt myself blush a little, and that was all Honor needed to start up again. "This is so fantastic…"

Throughout dinner we traded updates on work, and life; Honor insisted on hearing all about what I had been up to. Logan did his best to get Josh to join in on the conversation, but as per usual he let his wife do most of the talking, which is probably why they are still happily married.

Over desert I asked Honor about living upstate.

"We moved almost a year ago now… _had to get out of Hartford_. It's so pretty up there, we love it. And we keep a little apartment in the city for when we're passing through or in town for the night… though I'm not sure how often we'll be using it now, considering…"

She left a dramatic pause, "I'm pregnant!"

I wish I had a camera because the look on Logan's face was priceless. He managed to look like he got slapped in the face and yet happy for his sister all at the same time. I knew Honor had seen it too, because after congratulations had been given she shared a sly smile with me, and then turned to her brother, "So… I take it you're surprised?"

"Well yea, kind of but… it's great. Really… Have you told Mom and Dad?"

She rolled her eyes, "Yes… Well, we had dinner with Mom last night. She has already called me about fifteen times today, and I know it's only going to get worse. As for Dad, Mom is supposed to relay the message, but he wasn't exactly involved in our childhoods who knows I'm not sure how invested he will be anyway." She focused her attention on the two of us. "Have _you_ told Mom and Dad?"

"No, but now that you've got them distracted with a baby maybe we'll be able to fly under the radar."

" _Right_. Dad finally has you exactly where he wants you, and you think he's going to ignore the fact that a certain someone is suddenly in your life again… _No offense, Rory_."

"None taken." It's no secret how the elder Huntzbergers feel about me.

"First of all, if Dad had me exactly where he wanted me I would be his employee..."

"So not the point, Logan. You know shit is going to hit the fan when you tell them."

"Oh _nice_ language to use in front of that kid of yours." _This was turning into a good, old fashioned brother-sister spat._

"Forget the language Logan, you know I'm right… _Oh my god_. What about _your_ grandparents? Do _they_ know? If they know and it gets back to Mom before you tell her… "

She was really on a roll now… "We _know_ ; it's going to be a mess."

"Holy crap… if you guys are really doing this, you better mean it. Hartford is going to flip."

She was right. Between Emily and Shira, pretty much all of Hartford society knew about Logan and I before, and they had sure as hell heard about what happened when he proposed… half of them were there _._ _Shit really was going to hit the fan when they find out we're back together after all this time._

As we got to the car I could tell that Logan was feeling a little defeated.

"So, have you thought about how you want to tell your parents?"

His head was leaning on the seat back and he dramatically rolled it towards me, "Do you really think it's going to matter _how_ we tell them?"

"I don't know… They're _your_ parents. I'm already dealing with mine… Well, Mom and Luke, anyway. I don't know if it will even matter to my dad…" I thought for a moment, trying to recall the last time I even talked to my dad. _I should really check in on him_. "Richard and Emily are another story…"

"Ace, can we just take this one set of family members at a time? Tonight, I would really just like to take you back to my place and forget about everybody else."

"Really?"

He kissed me in response.

"I have to work tomorrow…"

"And you're not allowed out on school nights?"

" _Logan_..."

"Come on, we'll stop at your place and grab your stuff…"

"You want to go to my apartment, that's thirty blocks from here, just to turn around and go to your place that's down the street?"

He started to laugh at me.

" _What_?"

"You're just something else, Ace. Are you done trying to be rational, or do I need to do some convincing?"

I shook my head, "Alright, let's go… you're still welcome to do some convincing though."

That smirk of his crept across his face, and he leaned in start supporting his argument.

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. *

A/N - So I had to post an update to let you all know that I have been working on NEW material! I am so, so excited about it, mostly because I think you're really going to love it! Like _really_ love it, so get excited! I have a busy weekend coming up, but hopefully I'll be able to continue posting updated chapters so that I can get to the good stuff, since I know you've all been waiting very patiently.

NOW, a question (several, actually)... As I'm writing ahead, I have to ask: What kind of end game are you guys looking for? What do you still want to see? How do you want to see this story end for our favorites?

Keep the love, favorites, and follows coming... xxooxx


	18. Chapter 18: Gunfire at the OK Corral

The alarm clock on Logan's side of the bed started to sound at 5:30 the next morning.

He groaned as he reached for the snooze button, before rolling over and wrapping his arm around my waist, clearly not ready to start the day.

 _It's Thursday. Dominic was supposed to call me last night._

I sat up and reached for my phone only to find that the battery was dead. _Crap. Why didn't I grab my phone charger last night? I have to know if my article made the cut._

Logan had let his face roll into the pillow when I got up from under his arm. When I started to get out of bed he mumbled, "Ace, what are you _doing_? Come back." But I was pretty much in a panic.

I wasn't even thinking straight, "Do you get a newspaper?"

He had finally pulled himself up to leaning on his elbow. "Do you know what I do for a living?" _Of course he gets a paper._

"What newspaper?"

This was obviously more than he was ready for at this hour. He ran a hand through his messy hair, "Like _all_ of them, why?"

I took off out of the bedroom and was halfway down the stairs by the time he got to the doorway. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

I didn't answer, but I did open the front door to find a stack of newspapers in the hall. He really did get like _all_ of them. I grabbed the stack and hurriedly shuffled through them at the kitchen counter. _I only needed to find one._

By the time he had sleepily made his way down the stairs and to one of the stools at the breakfast bar I had found it, and left the rest of them in a heap on the counter.

"What's all this about, Ace?"

I ignored him. I couldn't talk and skim at the same time. I flipped through the pages as quickly as I could, in a desperate search for the Features section, and then scanning the articles until… _I screamed_. It was there. _I have a byline in The New York Times._

" _Rory_! What are you…?"

I shoved the paper in his face, pointing to the article, "My freelance piece!"

He was still half asleep, so it understandably took him a second to process what he was looking at.

"That's great Ace, but…" He finally caught on, "This is The New York Times…"

I couldn't even say anything; I stood there smiling like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Rory, _this is_ _The New York Times_."

"I'm in The New York Times!"

His smile was almost as big as mine as he stood up and kissed me. I couldn't believe that this was happening.

After a second he looked at me with a funny smile, then grabbed my hand and started to pull me towards the door, "Come on…"

"Where are we…?"

"Just put your shoes on. _Let's go_!"

I had no idea what he was up to, but he was so excited that I followed without hesitation. He rushed me out the door without even grabbing jackets, into the elevator, through the lobby, and down the street. It was _freezing,_ but he was a man on a mission. He didn't stop until we were at the paper stand around the corner.

"Give me every copy of The Times that you've got."

"What the hell are you talking about?" The guy running the stand, a native New Yorker given his heavy accent, was clearly even more baffled by the situation than I was. _This is all too incredible_.

"All of your New York Times. I want them."

"That's my top seller, I got regulars that are gonna come looking for 'em…"

"I'll pay you double; just let me take them."

He reluctantly took the cash that Logan handed him. Logan took one stack of papers, handed me another and before I knew it we were headed back to his building.

"You are _ridiculous_. I can't believe you paid him double for all of these."

"I can't believe he didn't want to sell them to me in the first place. Why does he care who buys them?"

"Why did you feel the need to buy _every_ copy?"

He finally stopped as we entered the elevator and the frantic energy from the last ten minutes began to settle.

"Ace, you have a byline in _The New York Times_."

I couldn't help but laugh, "I know, we did this bit already."

"This is _huge_. You're going to want copies. _Your mom_ is going to want copies."

I smiled because I knew he was right. He kissed me as the doors slid open.

We stepped off of the elevator just in time to come face to face with Mitchum, turning away from Logan's door. All of the excitement from the early morning came to a screeching halt. It was like we had run straight into a brick wall.

If the look on Logan's face last night had been priceless, the worth of Mitchum's face in that moment was absolutely insurmountable. He looked at Logan; He looked at me. For perhaps the first time in the years that I had known him, Mitchum Huntzberger was at a loss. I almost laughed. _This morning couldn't get any more surreal._

He finally gathered himself enough speak, "And here I thought that when you didn't answer you door that you might be at the office already."

"And here I thought you were in Toronto."

I wasn't sure what to do; Standing between Logan and his father was like being stuck in the middle of gunfire at the O.K. Corral. This was _absolutely_ not how I imagined Mitchum finding out about us being back together. I was waiting for some big shouting match to ensue, a classic Mitchum-Logan showdown, but they were both surprisingly calm.

After what seemed like forever Mitchum turned to me, "Rory…"

I tried to reflect his formal, but pointed tone, "Mitchum."

To my surprise, Logan spoke rather matter-of-factly, "Well, let's get this over with." And he led the trio of us inside.

My mind was racing as we made our way into the kitchen. _This was not going to be pretty_. It occurred to me that my standing there probably wasn't going to help this go smoothly.

"Maybe I should…"

"You should stay." Logan had a look on his face that I rarely saw when he was with his father. It wasn't anger or resentment, he was just… confident.

Mitchum was clearly had other things in mind, "Logan, I really think it would be best if…"

"Ace, do you want to stay?" Honestly, I wasn't sure. _This could be really ugly._

"If you want me to."

He turned back to Mitchum, "She's staying."

He wasn't yelling or even all that aggressive… I just couldn't get over get over how composed he was. _This was a totally different Logan_. "So, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Well your mother insisted I be home to hear some supposedly important news, so I thought I'd drop in at the board meeting this morning since I'm in town. I was unaware that you were hosting…" he paused for half a second before carefully choosing to continue with, " _company_."

"Well, I guess you're in for quite a bit of news today, then." Logan flashed me an amused look out of the corner of his eye, realizing the important news must be that Mitchum would soon be a grandfather. It was barely six o'clock and it was certainly already an _interesting_ day.

Mitchum quizzically eyed the stacks of newspapers that we had put down on the counter. "I guess we all are."

Logan nodded to me, encouraging me to field this one. "I have an article in The Times today. We were out to get extra copies."

" _We_?" Mitchum was still looking at Logan, "So this is a ' _we'_?"

I answered even though he was clearly not talking to me. "Yes. This is a ' _we'_. Logan and I are together."

"Logan?"

"Yes?" He was smiling, probably a little surprised that I had the gumption to jump in an answer that one. _So was I_.

"You and she are _together_?"

" _Rory_ is standing right here, and very capably answered your question." He made sure to emphasize my name.

"Do you think this is wise?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." _Uh, oh._ I could feel that the civility of the conversation was quickly crumbling.

"Well for one thing, if I recall correctly she rejected your proposal some time ago, after you had quit and were cut off from the company. But _imagine_ , now that you're successful, and on the verge of rejoining the largest publishing group on the East Coast, she has conveniently returned, and once again you are a ' _we'_."

" _Dad_ …"

"And a piece in The Times, pretty impressive… of course it would be more impressive if she wasn't sleeping with a major influence in the industry…"

 _Wow_. That was pretty low, even for Mitchum.

" _Do not start this_." He was hardly calm, in fact I could pretty much see steam coming out of his ears, but he was keeping himself together; Mitchum on the other hand was already becoming upset.

"Don't start _what_ , Logan? Looking out for your best interest?"

"Do no start accusing Rory of _anything_. And stop talking about her as if she's not here. _We_ are together; _we_ are here. Besides, I learned a long time ago, that ' _looking out for my best interest'_ is Huntzberger-speak for ' _covering your company's ass'_."

"Well my company's ass would need a lot less covering if you hadn't staggered your way through Yale with…"

"We both know that this is _not_ about who I was in college."

"Well, it seems a lot like your college days, wasting your time with…"

"You should _strongly_ consider how you want to finish that sentence." He was starting to lose his cool, but not in the reckless way he used to; he was genuinely angry.

 _This is getting to be too much;_ I was afraid of how far this would go _._ " _Logan..."_

"Rory, you don't deserve this."

Mitchum clearly wasn't finished, "You've been here what, _two weeks_? I'm sure you've been out with those idiot friends of yours, and now you're back with _her_?"

"With _Rory_. Yes, I am back with _Rory_. I should have _always_ been with _Rory_."

"Logan, this is about _you_..."

"That's bullshit and you know it."

"I didn't come here to fight, Logan. Hell, until she showed up I didn't know we had anything to fight about, but you have to be smart about girls like her…"

" _Girls like her?_ You come to my home uninvited, and you give me crap about my friends? _Fine_. But I will not stand here and let you make accusations about the woman that I love. You have no right…"

Mitchum laughed at the word ' _love'_. _I really can't stand this guy_.

"Logan, if you're going to be making irresponsible choices in your personal life, then how in the hell can I trust you in…"

"My personal life is _none_ of your business. In fact the only time you seem to take _any_ interest in my personal life is when you are concerned for _your_ company, and seeing as I am not yet a part of your company, who I choose to share my life with should be of no consequence to you."

"You _will_ be a part of this company and I will not stand by and let you repeat mistakes that will jeopardize its success."

Now it was Logan that let out a laugh, "If you're so _keen_ on remembering the past, let's not forget that it's _you_ who pursued _me_ for this merger. I am not some puppet of yours anymore. It is _your_ company that is reliant on _mine_ for its continued success, not the other way around. The next time you want to discuss _my_ life, it might do you well to remember that as of now, no contracts have been signed."

I was dumbfounded. _Was he really threatening to pull out of an unprecedented merger?_ If he was as serious as his face and voice suggested, he might. I couldn't let him do this. He worked too hard to throw it away… and for what? So that my feelings don't get hurt? _I cannot let this happen._ Logan is a smart man, but his temper and his pride work against him, especially when it comes to his dad. _This needs to stop now before there's no going back._

Mitchum started to open his mouth with some response, but I stepped between him and Logan, "Mitchum, I think you need to leave."

He looked me in the eye for the first time since we stood in the hallway, "Excuse me?"

Logan had stood up for me, now I needed to stand up for him, "You need to go, _now_. And as far as that meeting goes, it would seem that for now you are a guest there, and an unwelcome one at that. I suggest you talk to your wife and head back to Toronto."

He looked at me with what I could only interpret as disbelief before he turned and left the kitchen. I followed him through the dining room to make sure he was actually leaving. In an uncharacteristically bold move, maybe bolstered by Logan's defense of me, I gave him a bitter parting remark as he walked out the door, "Say 'Hi' to _Shira_ for me!"

 _Has this morning been real?_

I turned around to head back to the kitchen but found Logan standing behind me, leaning against the door frame with that bemused look on his face, "' _Say hi to Shira for me?_ '"

I kind of laughed, "Sorry… I got a little caught up in the moment…"

Now he was laughing. "Don't apologize. It was _perfect_." He held my head in his hands and kissed me. It was more of a kiss than I had been expecting and it took my breath away. He leaned his forehead to mine and we stood there for a second before he muttered, "I'm sorry."

"Why are _you_ sorry?"

"That he said those things; that he's such a jackass."

"Logan, it's not your fault. We knew that he was a jackass a long time ago, and we knew that his finding out about us was not going to be easy. This was maybe a little _more_ eventful than I was expecting, but…" I was trying to lighten up what had ended up being a very serious argument, but to no avail.

"I should have seen it coming; it wasn't fair to you. I shouldn't have made you sit through it."

"And have me miss out on your defending my honor, instead? _No way_." That got a smile out of him.

"Logan, it wasn't fair for him to say those things about _you_ , either. You are not at all the same person you were in college…"

"Not at _all_? I thought we revisited a _few_ things from college last night…"

" _Logan_! You know what I mean; you are so much more mature and so capable. Even just the way you handled your dad this morning… Four years ago, given the same circumstances, that is not how this would have ended."

"Well I have to say, Ace, I really didn't expect it to end with you throwing my dad out of the apartment. That was…" He shook his head and smiled.

"Well I think I must have been possessed by the ghost of Tammy Wynette; you know, _Stand By Your Man_ and all…"

"What would I do without you and Tammy?"

"Well, I have a feeling we're going to do a lot more of this standing by each other stuff for a while."

"I think I can manage that…" He followed up his promise with a kiss, but I needed to say something.

"Hey…"

He was a little disappointed I interrupted his follow up, " _Yes_?"

"I don't want you to make decisions because of me."

" _Ace_ …"

"I _mean_ it. You've worked so hard, and I heard what you said about him _needing_ this merger, but you _deserve_ it."

"Did you also hear what I said about who I choose to _share my_ _life_ with?"

" _Logan_ …" I wasn't _exactly_ sure where he was heading with that one, but I stuck to my argument regardless. "Just promise me you won't do anything rash."

He bit his bottom lip and looked at me. "Okay, I promise."

"Good." Now it was my turn to kiss him.

We went back into the kitchen and Logan glanced at the clock on the wall, "How is it possible that it's not even seven a.m.?

"Better question… How have I made it thought this morning without any coffee?"

He sighed with a smile, knowing he should have expected as much, and filled the coffee maker.

"You know, we still haven't really celebrated your article…"

"It's exciting, but we don't actually have to _celebrate_."

"Are you kidding?" He handed me a cup of coffee and I took a sip, "You get ink in The New York Times and think we're not going to revel in it?"

"Well, reveling will have to wait… I should to get to work."

"Call in sick…"

"Don't you have a board meeting to get to?"

He groaned, "Do you always have to be so responsible?"

"Sorry chief, my yacht stealing days are over…"

He followed me back upstairs, "Oh so _you_ can joke about it, but I can't?"

I pretended to think about it for a second, "Pretty much, yep."

By the time I was ready for work and got downstairs with my bag, he was dressed and pouring me a cup of coffee to go.

"You know, you could leave your stuff…"

"What?"

"You could leave your stuff here… it's not like you won't be back, right?"

"Is that standard three date practice?"

"Hey, it's been more than three dates, especially if you count taking care of our lush friends…" I couldn't stop a smile as it spread across my face. _He was pushing hard for this_. "And if you count how many dates we've _actually_ been on…"

" _Okay_ … the stuff can stay."

"Good… Besides it will be less stuff to steal when somebody breaks in to your apartment."

"Hey, I happen to _like_ my apartment."

"And I happen to like _you_ in one piece."

"Yea, yea, yea…" I checked my watch, "I've got to run."

He handed me the cup of coffee and gave me a kiss. "I love you."

"Love you too."

As I opened the door he called me, "Hey Ace…"

I looked back at him, standing there smiling.

"…I've missed this."

I knew exactly what he meant… _Being us_. "Me too."

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Big news for Rory in this chapter! And some more love for Rogan, of course! I _love_ hearing suggestions of what you want to see next/ where you want this story to go... And I'm VERY excited for all of you to read the new material I've been writing, but that will come all in good time. Keep the love, follows and favorites coming! xxoo


	19. Chapter 19: Good Pie

I was walking up to the coffee cart and I could see Leslie's blonde hair as she stood in line. _Good_. For once I had news I excited to share _without_ her having to drag it out of me.

"Hey!"

"Oh good, I tried to call you this morning."

"Sorry, my phone's dead. Anyway, I have some…"

She interrupted me excitedly, "You're never going to guess who called me last night."

For the last couple of weeks Leslie had been hanging on to every word of the Rory and Logan saga, and spending mornings pumping me for information on the latest details. For her to be this excited about something else was intriguing…

"Okay, shoot…"

She looked at me with her eyebrows raised, expecting me to draw the conclusion on my own. That means I know the person but…

"Oh, _no_ …" I couldn't stop myself from laughing as I said it. I really should have seen this coming.

" _What_? I don't really remember giving him my number the other night, but I guess I did, and called he called me and he was really sweet..."

"This is Finn we're talking about, right? Tall guy, Australian accent, absolutely ridiculous? _That_ Finn?

" _Yes_ , that Finn."

"Les, do you remember what I said the other night?"

"I know _nothing but trouble_ , but so what? He's friends with Logan, I'm friends with you; It could be fun…"

I laughed, "It could also be a _disaster_ … So what did sweet talking Finn have to say?"

"Not much, just that he had fun the other night; he was glad you brought me…"

"Laying it on thick, huh?"

"He's _not_ a bad guy…"

"I _know_ he's not a bad guy. I actually quite like him, in spite of his eccentricities. But I also know that he's _all_ about the chase..."

"So? I _like_ the chase…"

 _I know that's true._ I was almost afraid to ask… "So did you…?"

She shook her head, but winked, "But that doesn't mean I won't…"

" _Oh Lord_ , this is dangerous…"

"Come on, where's that adventurous Rory the boys were telling me about?"

I smiled to myself… the _really_ dangerous part would be if this actually worked out. I knew Leslie could handle herself with pretty much any guy, and that Finn was _exactly_ the kind of fun she liked to have, but the two of them together? _Look out New York_.

"So, that was _my_ night… What was it that you were going to tell me about?"

I took a deep breath, feeling both excited by my news and still a little anxious about everything else that had transpired this morning. "A couple of things, actually. First…" I handed her one of the copies of The Times that I had taken with me, and then opened it up to the page where my article was printed.

" _Holy shit_ , Rory! This is The New York Times! How could you not tell me that this was happening?"

"I know, I know, but _I_ didn't actually know if it was happening until this morning. Dominic was supposed to call me last night, but my phone died and I didn't bring my charger…"

"To _Logan's_?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, to _Logan's_. Anyway, I knew they had picked up the rights, but there was like next to no chance that it would actually make print, so I didn't want to jinx it, but…"

"You're in The New York Times! Obviously Logan knows; have you told your mom yet?"

"No… I kind of want her to see it in person; I thought I'd send her a copy this morning. I'll see her this weekend, and we can repeat the ' _Why didn't you tell me_?' conversation then."

"This is amazing… like _unbelievable_."

"It's hardly the _most_ unbelievable thing that's happened this morning."

She looked at her watch, "It's only eight-thirty; how much more could have happened already?"

"You have _no_ idea…" I filled her in on the Mitchum showdown, which she punctuated by several gasps and choice expletives, as we made our way inside.

When I had finished she took a deep breath; she had gotten so worked up it was like she had been there, "Well, I guess the hard part's over then?"

I laughed, "You clearly _do not_ know the Huntzbergers."

She mocked a snooty attitude, "Well, not all of us can rub elbows, _or other body parts_ , with industry royalty."

" _Leslie!"_

" _What?"_ She rightly made a face that suggested I should know to expect comments like that from her.

I rolled my eyes, "Could you at least keep it to a minimum at work?"

"Why? If people know you're doing a Huntzberger you could run this place."

I ignored the brazenness of her _'doing a Huntzberger'_ comment as we stepped off of the elevator, "My point exactly... He's staying out of my career for as long as possible."

She shook her head but smiled, "Sometimes I really don't understand you…"

Before she headed off to her desk she added quietly, "Well at least we know one of those Huntzbergers is a good guy."

I smiled to myself as she walked away. _Logan was definitely a good guy_.

The first thing I did was package a copy of today's Times, with a sticky note informing my mother of what page to turn to, and put it in the mail. Next, I plugged in my phone, and in the meantime called Dominic.

"I take it you're in a good mood this morning, Gilmore."

"I am indeed."

"I was afraid you didn't get my message last night."

"I didn't actually, but it made for a rather exciting morning."

"I hope so; it's not all that often we get a piece pushed through at The Times. This is big, Gilmore… The agency wants to see more from you. I know you've got your gig at The Post, but get us what you can. And you should know, my buddy at The Times is interested in what else you've got, too."

" _Really_?"

"What did I tell you? This is big…"

I heard my name from down the hall, "Hey, Gilmore!" It was Gerry.

"Dominic, I gotta run, but I'll get back to you."

I had no idea how Gerry was going to react to one of his staff running a story in the paper that was pretty much their biggest competition. _But they wanted more_ … I tried to wipe the smile off of my face as I walked into Gerry's office.

"I guess congratulations are in order." He had an open copy of The Times on his desk.

"Thank you, sir." He didn't seem too upset so I let a small smile slip.

Gerry leaned back in his chair to look out his door, " _Sherry_! Get us some coffee in here."

 _I guess we were taking a meeting_ … Less than a minute later, Sherry was putting coffee on the desk and then backing out of the office.

"So… what does this mean?"

"What does this _mean_? I'm not sure what you…" I really had no idea where he was going with this.

"Come on, Gilmore… A byline in The Times and you expect me to believe you're not going to try and play this to your advantage around here?"

 _Oh_. Given that I didn't think this would actually happen, I really hadn't given much thought to how it might affect the dynamic here…

"I really just wanted to get my article out. I wasn't planning on…"

"What are you working on now? That series on the space shuttle, right? You still want that?"

"Uh… Yea. I've got a good start on it."

"Alright, then… What are you thinking for your next pitch?"

"I've got a couple of leads, but nothing definite yet…"

"Well, I'll see what people have coming in. You can take your pick."

I was stunned. _One big article and he wants to give me my choice of incoming leads?_ I made my way back to my desk in disbelief. _People are going to hate me_. My worries were momentarily interrupted by the sight of Sarah sitting on my desk with a box in her hands; generally she signed for packages and passed them off to peoples' desks in the mail cart.

"What's this about?"

" _Well_ , a very handsome man in a very expensive suit delivered this to the front desk for you. I told him you were in a meeting, but he said he didn't want you to see him anyway, so naturally I'm intrigued."

 _Go figure, the receptionist is a gossip_. I was grateful that Sarah was oblivious to who the ' _very handsome man'_ had been, but I knew exactly who it was. He was already walking a fine line on his promise to keep our relationship out of the office...

She handed me the box, but remained planted on my desk, "Well, aren't you going to open it?"

I was hesitant to open it in front of Sarah, but I knew she wasn't going to move until she saw what it contained, so I pulled lifted the lid to find a beautiful, wooden frame. The mat inside held the header from today's New York Times above my article; and there was a note on familiar stationary tucked between the frame and the glass, _"Hope you're reveling, Ace. – L"_

I knew Sarah was watching me, so I covered my mouth with my hand in an attempt to hide the uncontrollable smile that was on my face.

"Oh, _fancy_! _So, who's 'L'_?"

This was already going to be enough gossip silage; I didn't need to give her anymore details.

"He's none of your business." _Leslie to the rescue_. For as much as she loved hearing about my love life, she had a history of showing very little patience toward Sarah. _It might have something to do with her having walked in on Leslie and some guy from graphics in the copy room at last year's Christmas party_. Regardless, I was more than happy that she had intervened.

"So it's a _he_?"

"Don't you have a job to do?" Leslie gave Sarah a serious stink eye and waved her back to the front desk.

When Sarah finally slunk away I turned to her, "Well, I'm certainly glad you're on _my_ team."

"You're the one who said you didn't want a certain someone's name getting around the office."

"Hey, I never said I didn't appreciate the rescue... just remind me to stay on your good side."

"You got it." She gave a mock salute, before she leaned over my shoulder to look at the frame, "You gotta admit… the man's got style."

 _He did indeed_. Between this and his knight-in-shining-armor act with his dad this morning, he was winning major points today. "He always _has_ had a thing about grand gestures…"

"You _earned_ this one… Speaking of, I saw you get pulled into Gerry's office. How'd he take it?"

I put the frame on my desk, leaning against the wall so it was sort of on display, "I think he was kind of groveling…" I was almost embarrassed to say it, but I didn't know what else to call it.

"He _should_ be. He turned that piece down, and now you got it in the second most circulated paper in the country? _Oh_ , you should demand a raise."

"Well, he's giving me my choice of incoming leads…"

"You keep this up and he's going to have to be offering a lot more than _that_."

Leslie went back to her desk to get some actual work done, but I had some thanking to do; I texted Logan, _"I love it."_

" _I'm glad."_

Before I could reply he messaged again,

" _Come back to my place tonight and we'll continue the reveling."_

 _He really was on a roll today._ I agreed, interested to see what else he had in store.

I tried to get some work done the rest of the afternoon. My only other real interruption was my grandfather calling to congratulate me, excited to have something big to show off at the club, and wondering if I would be joining them for dinner tomorrow night to celebrate. I did my best to gracefully side step the question... I was just lucky I was talking to Richard and not Emily, or I never would have gotten away that easy.

I was packing up my desk for the evening when Leslie met up with me, "Heading to Lover-Boy's tonight?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Well, _good_. I might be off having some fun of my own…" She had a very mischievous look on her face.

 _Good God_. "Hey… don't say I didn't warn you!"

She pretended not to hear me and waved as she headed for the elevators.

A little while later I was walking into the lobby of Logan's building and Tommy, the same doorman that had been at the desk the other night, greeted me, "Ms. Gilmore…"I gave him a smile as I entered the elevator. _Being back in this world was going to take some getting used to_.

When I knocked, Logan answered almost immediately, "Hey you…" He proceeded to pull me inside with a long kiss.

"Well, hello to you too."

He smirked… always proud of himself when he could catch me off guard like that.

I noticed that the dining room table was set for two, and something smelled delicious as we walked into the kitchen. "Are you _cooking_?"

"It _does_ happen in some peoples' kitchens on occasion."

" _Well, who knew?"_

He laughed, as he directed me to one of the stools at the counter, "Tell you what Julia Child, you sit, and I'll finish dinner."

"Are you just trying to keep me out of the way?"

"Yes... but I might trust you to slice the pie later."

" _Pie?"_

He laughed at my excitement _. I love pie_. "We're celebrating. Do you think I would forego _pie_?"

"I _knew_ there was a reason I liked you."

He shook his head as he busied himself around the kitchen "So, what did your editor have to say about the article?"

"Well, I think he was impressed…" I told him about my being surprised by his reaction, and what Leslie said about him offering more than my choice of leads.

Logan put a glass of wine down in front of me, "She's right. He knows it was a good article, and that he blew it by turning it down. He has to play ball now."

"It was _one_ article…"

"For _now_ … You're a great writer. You've _always_ been a great writer, and with other papers interested in your writing, _big papers_ , he's going to be working to keep you happy. _One article_ could turn into other papers trying to poach you from The Post."

I felt like this was exaggerating, " _Logan_ … nobody's going to try and…"

"I'm serious, Ace. I've done it. Everybody does it. That's how this business works."

I was still convinced he was getting ahead of himself, so I directed the conversation toward him, "On the subject of things _you've done_ , a little bird told me that _someone_ was at my office today."

He raised his eyebrows with a sly smile, "You can't believe everything you hear… Those birds are notorious liars."

"Logan, you _promised_."

" _Oh come on_ , that girl doesn't know who I am… Besides, I told you that I'm going to have to start bragging about you eventually, _hence the reveling_." He winked and flashed his well-practiced, most charming smile, but I saw right through it.

"You are on notice, Mister…"

He took my warning as a challenge, "You _know_ I like to live dangerously."

" _Oh!_ Speaking of living dangerously, do you have any idea what our dear friend Finn is up to tonight?"

He looked up at me, clearly unware of what the situation was, "No, but I have a feeling this isn't going to be good."

"I dunno… That really depends on how you feel about him seeing Leslie."

He almost spit out his wine when he started to laugh, "Uh, oh."

"My thoughts exactly… apparently in her stupor the other night Les decided it was a good idea to give him her number, and he called her."

" _Called_ her?" He raised his eyebrows, obviously having the same idea I had when she told me.

"No… he literally called her. She said he was _sweet_." I had a hard time saying that with a straight face.

"Sweet? _Finn_?"

I nodded. "She's seeing him tonight…"

"Wow… well maybe they'll surprise us…"

I laughed, "That's kind of what I'm afraid of… The two of them _together_? That's asking for trouble."

He let out a laugh, "A justifiable concern… did you tell _her_ that?"

"Of course not! For Leslie, that would basically be like issuing a challenge."

"They'll make quite a pair, then." He was obviously amused by this… I had to admit that this would be interesting… _Definitely not a byproduct I would have expected from Logan and I reuniting._

"And what about _us_?" Admittedly I was toying with him, but I really was curious about what his answer might be.

" _Us_?" He looked surprised by my question.

"What kind of pair do we make?"

Now he was smiling, and he walked around the counter. As he spoke, he punctuated each word with a kiss, "We…" _Kiss_. "…make..." _Kiss_. "…an..." _Kiss_. "…amazing..." _Kiss_. "…pair." Each kiss had grown a little deeper than the last, ending with one that literally took my breath away.

"Good answer."

"I wasn't finished yet…" He had a devilish smile on his face as took my hand and pulled me from my seat.

"What about your dinner?"

"Forget dinner."

"But you _cooked_ …"

" _Ace_ …" He rolled his eyes, but he still had that smile.

I hadn't really been trying to make things difficult for him, but it _was_ kind of fun to be the one with the smug smile on my face for a change.

I finally relented and he pulled me in for another deep kiss before I finally let him lead me upstairs.

For the second time that day I found myself wrapped in his arms, in his bed, and I was absolutely content… happy to be in his arms; happy to be loved; _happy to be us_.

"I think you're right…"

He was busy spreading little kisses along the top of my shoulder, "About what?"

"About us making a pretty good pair."

I could feel his lips curl into a smile on my back, "I'm glad you've come around to the idea… but you know, I think we have _always_ made a pretty good pair."

I thought about it for a second and then rolled from my side to my back so that he was looking down at me… _Be honest_. "I think we're a _better_ pair now… better than we would have been if..."

He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed the top of my head, "I know."

" _Really_?"

A reluctant smile crept across his face and he leaned his forehead into mine, "Yes… _you win_."

"I _win_?"

"You were right. About trying to take things slowly…"

" _I'm sorry_ … Can you repeat that?"

" _You were right.._. If you had let me rush into this it wouldn't be the same." _He hated having to admit it, but I was loving it._ I couldn't hide my smile.

"Well my plan _has_ worked out pretty well…"

"And I'm sure your mother is very proud…"

I raised one eyebrow, a little surprised by his postulation, "As a matter of fact she is, but…"

"Come on, Ace. I know better than to think you haven't been running every step of this by her. I know _you_."

"Is that so?"

"It is… just like I _know_ you are dying for some of that pie."

I pulled out my most exaggerated excitement, "You _do_ love me!"

He laughed, "Let's go..."

Downstairs he did indeed trust me to slice the pie. It was _good_ pie.

"No better way to celebrate… or end an exceptionally long day."

As soon as I said it I regretted it. Like clockwork his cell phone rang.

"I think you spoke too soon, Ace…" He looked at the screen and his face was suddenly filled with dread, "… _Way_ too soon."

He turned the phone so I could see the screen… _Shira_. We should have seen this coming after our encounter with Mitchum this morning.

"You have to answer it… avoiding her is only going to make it worse."

He sighed heavily, resigning himself to his only option, "Hello, Mother…"

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N- Lucky for all of you, I'm in a benevolent mood, so... here it is: a two part update coming at ya, because I know how much you hate cliffhangers... xxoo


	20. Chapter 20: Very Cone of Silence

"…Oh before you go any further Mom, congratulations on becoming a _grandmother_."

I couldn't tell if he was trying to butter her up or trying to take a jab at her being old enough to have grandchildren, but as he spoke he winked at me, suggesting he had intended the latter. _He wasn't kidding about liking to live dangerously._

He listened for a minute…

"Yes _, Rory_ and I had dinner with them last night."

Another pause…

" _Oh yea_? I'm surprised she didn't tell you."

I was dying to know how the other half of this conversation was going. I looked at Logan, hoping to get some hint, but instead he put his phone on speaker and set in on the counter. _Not exactly what I had in mind, but at least I would have a front row seat to my own vilification_.

"Yes, just an _oversight,_ I'm sure." It was clear that she understood Logan's sarcasm.

"So since I doubt you're calling to congratulate me on becoming an uncle, I have to ask; what is it that I can do for you?" He knew exactly why she was calling, but he was playing his mother's game… passive aggressive, and riddled with disdain, delivered as polite conversation. It was a time honored skill in upper-class social circles, and Shira had always played the game well. _Emily was practically a professional_.

"Well, it's this whole Rory _situation_ , Logan. I spoke with your father, and I have to agree with him." Her emphasis on the word ' _situation'_ said it all. It reeked with condescension.

"Agree with _him_? By the end of our conversation this morning, he seemed to be agreeing with _Rory_ ; what with taking her advice on when to _retreat_ and stay away from the board meeting today." _Was he actually having fun with this?_

"You need to be smart about this, Logan. You know we weren't fond of your relationship in the first place, then she humiliated you in front of everyone at that party. Have you _thought_ about why she's suddenly trying to finagle her way back into your life?"

"Well, Mom, as fate would have it, I was really the one who walked into _her_ life, quite literally…" He was smiling, thinking about the meet cute that had started all of this that night at McConnell's. "…a _very_ fortunate coincidence."

" _Fortunate_? For _her_ maybe…"

"She didn't seem to think so at first; in fact it took quite a bit on convincing for her to see me at all." He exaggerated his self-deprecating tone and I had to stifle a laugh.

"Don't be naïve, Logan. You can't honestly believe that a girl like _her_ had _no_ interest in pursuing a man like _you_?"

"There's that phrase again, ' _a girl like her'_. Dad used it too, but seeing as how neither one of you ever bothered to _actually_ get to know Rory, you have no idea what kind of a girl she is."

"I don't _have_ to get to know her. She relied on her family for money before, she's probably just living off of a trust fund now, and she needs a plan for when that runs out…"

 _Oops... No more fun_. The direct hits had started, and _Logan_ was back.

"She is _not_ living off a trust fund, and she doesn't have a _plan_ , she has a career."

"Of course, her _career_ …"

"Oh, I forgot that a woman having a career is a foreign concept."

" _Excuse me_ , but working is not a foreign concept. I have worked your entire life for the good of this family…"

"This _family_? This so called family has never been anything more than a good image for Mitchum to present to shareholders… nothing like a good _family man_ to give people confidence in a company.

"Yes, Logan, being a part of this family has _responsibilities;_ ones that I'm sure she _still_ doesn't understand. But I thought that _you_ understood that part of that responsibility includes working to _uphold_ the confidence in the company. It most certainly does _not_ include being responsible the career of this girl."

" _Being responsible for her career_?" He was the one trying not to laugh now, "I have been _banned_ from her career. She wants me to have nothing to do with it."

"So you expect us to believe that you had nothing to do with her being published in The New York Times? That she has _no_ plans to use your influence to further her career?"

"That's _absolutely_ what I expect you to believe. I didn't even know that article was happening until it was already at my door this morning."

"Your father thinks…"

"I would expect my _father_ to feel differently on this subject; especially considering he was once quoted as having 'given her her start', of course that was after he told her that she didn't _have_ _it._ Rory has and will continue to earn her _own_ career."

"Well from what I can imagine, that career isn't _earning_ her much."

"We're back to _money_? This is not about money."

"Grow up, Logan. _Everything_ is about money. She a _reporter_ , she doesn't have money of her own…"

"And neither would I if I had followed along the path that the two of you had laid out for me. Besides, are _you_ really one to talk about marrying for money?"

 _Oh boy_. Not that it had really been a secret, but Emily had been sure to let us in on that little detail of Shira's life. Logan _must_ have known it was a cheap shot, but he didn't seem to care.

Shira was clearly speechless.

"Are we _done_ here? Because if there's nothing else…"

"We are far from finished…"

"Fine, but _this_ conversation is over."

He was practically fuming when he hung up the phone. For what had started out as a mildly amusing exchange had gotten particularly nasty.

" _Logan_ …"

"What do you think the maximum sentence for matricide is?"

"Hey, before you go turning into the third Menendez brother, can we please remember that this is exactly what we expected from them?"

He sighed and looked at me in all seriousness, "You okay?"

I needed to start a pot of coffee, but I was okay. I nodded, "I can take it. Besides, given that she _is_ your mother, I'll have to face her eventually…" I remembered how she had said very similar things to my face the first time we met, and I hadn't really been able to do anything about it. "…to be honest, I'm almost looking forward to it."

"You're _looking forward_ to it?" He was actually surprised, but the more I thought about it, the more resolved I got.

"I _am_. She has made _no_ attempts to be civil towards me, and I just took her crap before. I'm not going to do it this time. If she needs some kind of proof that I'm worthy than _damn it_ I'm going to give it to her."

He raised his eyebrows, "You're going to go toe to toe with _Shira_?"

"Are you forgetting who my grandmother is? Your mother might not be impressed by the _Gilmore_ name, but Emily Gilmore is the queen of social combat. In fact she is the Bob Lee Swagger of it. I have learned from the best of the best."

"Well, _Oorah_ then."

I poured myself a cup of the fresh coffee, and did my best to segue the conversation casually, "So… in regard to her highness…"

Logan rolled his eyes, knowing what was coming. " _Yes_?"

"Not that I'm expecting your mother to go bragging to all of her friends about her precious son's ill-intentioned mistress, but it _is_ going to get around and I'm thinking that it would be in our best interest to beat society to the punch."

" _Ill-intentioned mistress?"_ He was amused.

I shrugged, "I thought it would sound more mysterious than 'gold-digging, trash girlfriend'."

He made a face that suggested I was ridiculous for entertaining Shira's version of me, "Well alright, mistress of mine… Let's do it."

"Do what?"

"Talk to your grandparents."

"When?"

He shrugged, "Now?"

" _Right_ now?"

"Yea, right now."

"But…"

"Ace, this was your idea…"

 _He had a fair point_ … "But... I haven't talked to Luke yet."

He sighed. "We were supposed to do that Saturday, right?"

"Yea…"

"Why wait? It can't be worse than _my_ parents, so what's the point in dragging this out? I'll call Luke, we'll go to Friday night dinner, and be done with it."

" _You_ want to call Luke?"

"Yea... I am courting his quasi-daughter after all."

I gave him a skeptical look, "What happened to not being good at all of this gentleman stuff?"

He gave me a light kiss, "For _you_? I have my moments…"

"And you're _volunteering_ to go to Friday night dinner? You understand that that means you'll be face to face with them…"

"Well, I'm much more charming in person…" He followed that one up with a trademark smirk.

He was serious about this. I took a deep breath, "Well, Rhett, should I tell them you're coming or spring it on them at the door?"

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn…" He smiled, picking up my reference, but after a beat reconsidered, "…that's not true. You should probably give them a heads up."

I had to laugh. I felt a better knowing that he was a little nervous too, but I was impressed by his moxie.

I knew I would need to give my mom a heads up first; she was going to want to have popcorn ready for this one. She would also want to hear all the gory details of the rest of the day, so I figured that was a conversation that could wait until I got home. I started upstairs to get dressed...

"Where are you going?"

"I have to call my mom… I'm just gonna grab my stuff and head home…"

"Why?"

"Because that's where I live… and I haven't been there in like two days."

" _So_?"

"So… I don't have anything to wear to work, and now I need to find something to wear to dinner tomorrow…"

He jumped at the opening, playing coy, "You know, those issues could easily be remedied if…"

I looked at him, unsure of how far he was going to take this tonight.

" _What_? I'm just saying you could keep a few more things here than pajamas and a toothbrush…"

I rolled my eyes, but kissed him anyway _. We aren't diving in._

He smiled, believing that he was slowly but surely wearing me down. "Fine… But take a car, and call me…"

"When I get home, _I know_ …" _It really was sweet that he worried_. "I love you."

He smiled and kissed me, "Yea, you better if I'm gonna go through with Friday night dinner."

"Hey, you _volunteered_ for it."

"Then I must love you, too."

Logan must have called as soon as I closed the door, because by the time I got to the lobby, Tommy was directing me to a car waiting at the curb.

I walked the four flights up to my tiny apartment, and sank into the couch. It had been an _unbelievably_ long day. I pulled out my phone and called my mom.

" _Hello_?"

"Why are you whispering?"

" _He's sleeping…"_

"Landon?"

" _No, Paul Anka."_

"I can't tell if you're being serious or not." I could hear the floor boards creak as she tip toed into another room.

"Okay, I'm in the clear. Of course I was being serious. Metallica couldn't wake Landon up, but Paul Anka's a light sleeper."

"Of course he is… So, we've had a change of plans."

"What _kind_ of change of plans?"

"Well, it looks like we will be seeing you at dinner tomorrow night."

" _We_? As in you and Logan. At my parents' house. _Together_."

"That would be correct."

"You are aware that they are going to be there, right? Are you trying to give Grandpa another heart attack?"

" _No_. It's not like we're just going to show up. I'm going to call Grandma in the morning, tell her that I will be coming to dinner after all, and then mumble something about Logan joining us."

"While I'm _very_ proud of you plan of action, I have to ask what prompted this _oh so_ bold approach."

"Logan, actually."

"What, has he developed an interest in sadomasochism since he was last in your life?"

" _Mom_ …"

"I'm just wondering _why_ a seemingly sane person would voluntarily commit to dinner at the Gilmore's under these conditions."

"We talked to his parents today."

" _Danger, Will Robinson!"_

"Yea, no kidding. Long story short, we unexpectedly ran into Mitchum early this morning, completely unprepared for the confrontation, and then we got a follow up call from Shira this evening."

"So… do they still…?"

" _Yes_. If it's possible I think they approve of me less now than they did then. Not only am I not good enough for their _family_ , but I'm also _only_ interested in Logan for his money and to use him to get ahead at work."

"I thought you weren't letting him in at work?"

"I'm _not,_ but try telling them that… Hey, as long as _we_ are talking about work, you should be getting something in the mail tomorrow morning. I sent it to the Inn."

" _Oh_ did you write an article about _me_?"

"No, I'm saving that one for when I'm the running for a Pulitzer… but this is _definitely_ big."

"How big?"

"New York Times big."

"Are you _kidding_?" I heard her yell away from the phone, " _Luke_!" followed by Paul Anka barking in the background. " _Luke_! Rory's in The New York Times!"

Before Luke got to the phone she quickly asked, "Hey, are we doing the Logan conversation now?"

"No. Actually, Logan want's to handle that conversation."

" _Really_?"

"Yea... Do you think that's a bad idea?"

"No, I actually think Luke might really appreciate that."

"I might really appreciate what?" I could hear him standing next to Mom.

"Uh… You might appreciate… if Rory brought extra copies of her article to dinner tomorrow."

" _Tomorrow_? I thought she was coming Saturday?"

"Well… she has big news… and once the grandparents knew, Emily wouldn't take no for an answer, you know how insistent she is…" _Bless my mother and her ability to think on her feet_.

I heard him say something about how he's glad it would give them something to talk about other than everything that he seems to do wrong, and then my mother shooed him away.

"So Logan is really going to call Luke?"

"That's the plan."

"Wow… Look at him stepping up to the plate."

I smiled to myself. "He's practically Babe Ruth."

Friday morning I got up, made a pot of coffee, sat and the table and stared at my phone. I had to call Emily, and I had to tell her that I was bringing Logan to dinner, but I had _no idea_ how to actually break the news. Finally I gulped down the last of my first cup of the day and dialed her number.

" _Rory_ , well this is a surprise. To what do I owe the morning call?" She sounded like she was in a good mood… _So far, so good_.

"Well, actually I've had a change of plans and thought I might join you at dinner tonight, if that's alright?"

" _Alright_? Of course it's alright…" She went on and on about how I was always welcome, and didn't need to ask, but of course it was good that I called so she could tell the cook, and she would have to come up with something special to celebrate my article, but I was only half listening. I was busy preparing myself for the next part of news.

"…oh, and I'll have to tell the maid to set an extra place, though I might end up having to do it myself. She barely speaks a word of English and I can _never_ tell if she understands what I'm saying, so I have to follow her around to make sure things get done. It's almost worse than not having a maid at all…

"Well, you'll need two extra places."

She stopped short of whatever else she was going to say next. " _Two_? You're bringing someone with you?"

"Yes, actually…"

She was suddenly very excited, "Is it a boy? Do you have someone you want us to meet?"

"Actually, you already met him…"

"We _know_ him? Who _on earth_ could you be bringing to dinner that we already know?"

 _Just spit it out._ "Logan."

I swear she was going to jump through the phone, " _Logan_! Logan _Huntzberger_? The _same_ Logan who left you at graduation? Who as far as _I_ know you haven't seen in years?" The boy who…"

I wasn't sure how far she was going to take that, but I didn't have all morning. "Yes, Grandma. _That_ Logan. He's in New York now, and we ran into each other, and…"

"Are you _together_?" In a way that was very specific to Emily Gilmore, she had gone from practically shrieking to an even-keeled, straight forward question. It was amazing, and a little terrifying.

 _Come on, rip the Band-Aid off_. "Yes."

"Well…" There was an extended pause, during which she was undoubtedly trying to decide how she was going to handle this. True to form, by the time she finished her sentence she was as composed as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, "Two place settings it is. We'll see you both at seven." And with that the line went dead.

 _Great.._. Her tone had been remarkably matter-of-fact, flat, even… giving me _no_ real indication of her feelings on the matter. _Well, at least she knows we're coming._

An hour later I had stopped at the cart for another cup of coffee and was at my desk. I had to get final copy of my space shuttle piece to Gerry by eleven, but when Leslie tried to sneak past my desk a half hour later than she usually does I put everything on hold.

 _Did she really think she could stroll past my desk without me noticing that she was wearing practically the exact same thing she had on yesterday?_

I went to the break room, poured her a cup of coffee and met her at her desk, "Spill."

It was _very_ reminiscent of what she had done to me only a few weeks earlier.

She bit her lip trying to hide her guilty smile.

"Come on, I already _figured_ that part…"

" _Okay_ … so we hadn't really made plans, but when I got home from work he sent me a text to meet him at this club, so I did…"

" _Okay…"_ I knew the end game, but she would never have let me get away with so few details.

"It was a great place… good music, good vibe, good _drinks_ …"

" _And_?"

"We danced, and talked for a while…"

"Finn _talked_?"

"Yea, I mean we'd been drinking and it was pretty loud, so after a while it was kind of yelling some less than subtle double entendres, but before it got to that point there was some talking…"

 _Well what do you know_ ; maybe they were going to surprise us.

"…anyway, like I said, we'd been drinking, so one thing led to another, and he took me to his hotel… which by the way… _Wow_."

I knew Finn, which meant I had a pretty good idea of what kind of hotel he'd be staying at. I also knew what kind of hotels Les and I stayed in on the couple of weekends we'd taken out of the city… once again the world discrepancy rears its head.

"You didn't let a nice hotel room sway you, did you?"

" _Nice_? It was _awesome_ … and no, I didn't really need any swaying at that point."

"So things went well? You had fun? No scars?"

"Why would you assume there would be scars?"

I laughed, "Because you went out with _Finn_ … for most girls that ends with scars; sometimes emotional _and_ physical."

"Well, no scars to be spoken for… unless you count the bruise that's forming on my knee from where I ran into the table on my way out this morning."

"I don't… and I'm glad that it sounds like you had fun."

"I did. He and Colin are going out again tonight, and I think I'm going to join them… You guys should come!"

As interested as I was to see the new Leslie-Finn dynamic, I had some major things to take care of tonight... "No can do. We're having dinner at my grandparents'."

" _Wow_ … He's going to the infamous Friday night dinner?"

"Yep. His idea, _not mine_ , and I have no idea what we're in for, but after talking to his mother last night…" I gave her all the gory details of the conversation I had eavesdropped on between Logan and Shira. She _loved_ it.

"Hey, you know I love you and it sucks that his mom is _such_ a bitch, but all of this drama is kind of exciting… _very Dynasty_."

"Oh, I'm _so_ glad I can provide entertainment for the cable-impaired."

"Hey, pay day is Tuesday and the cable comes back on... but I do have to get this article finished if I want to earn that pay check... Let me know how dinner goes?"

"Oh I will."

I let her get to work and headed back to my desk. I really was glad that she had a good time with Finn, and it _was_ kind of fun to see her be so excited and infatuated with everything that came with him… _Maybe it would be a good thing after all._

I sent Gerry my final copy, and just as I was about to take my lunch, Mom called. As expected, I got to repeat the whole 'why didn't you tell me' argument that we kind of skipped over last night, where she pretended to be mad, but I could tell from her voice that she was thrilled.

"This really is amazing, kid."

"More amazing than an article about _you_?"

"Well, we both know I make an excellent muse, but _this_ … I'm really proud of you, Rory."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Did Logan take you out to celebrate?"

"We did a little reveling, but all the Huntzberger excitement overshadowed it a bit. He did have the article framed for me, though… and he bought about fifty copies."

"Good man. Bring some tonight; Luke wants to hang one in the Diner."

"He doesn't have to do that…"

"But he wants to. He's so proud. And he's impressed…"

"That's a little redundant."

"Back off, Nellie Oleson, I _meant_ that he's impressed by Logan."

"Logan called already?"

"You didn't know? _Some relationship you guys have there.._. You should really work on your communication skills. It really is the foundation for..."

I rolled my eyes and cut off her teasing before it could go any further, "I knew he was _going_ to call, but I haven't talked to him yet this morning."

"Already sleeping in separate rooms? _Not a good sign..._ "

"Sleeping in separate _apartments,_ thank you very much..." _She is too much sometimes_. "So, what did he say?"

"I don't know exactly. Luke was very Cone of Silence about it."

"If Luke was in the Cone of Silence, _he_ wouldn't know what Logan said, but _you_ totally would. The Cone of Silence _never_ worked…"

"You are just _brutal_ today…"

"Sorry, Chief."

"Apology accepted, _86_. _Anyway_ , what I meant was that he wouldn't give me any details. All he would say was that he wanted you to be happy and if that means Logan, then he's okay with it… And that he would kill him if he hurt you, but that's pretty standard."

 _He did it again_. "I have _got_ to listen in on one of these conversations. First Leslie and now Luke… I don't know how he does it."

" _You got me_ … I was expecting Luke to lay into him, especially after the way he showed up here that night, but after a tense couple of minutes at the start things seemed to go very smoothly… From what I could tell I mean, he was out on the porch and I was spying on him through the window…"

"Good work, _99_."

"I do what I can…"

My phone beeped to let me know I had a call waiting. I checked the screen, "I gotta run Mom, Logan's calling."

"Pushing aside your giver of life for a boy? Is that the way I raised you?"

"Yes it is."

"Fair enough... See you tonight."

I switched calls, "Hey, I heard you talked to Luke this morning…"

" _Man_ , word travels fast these days."

"It's those darn, new-fangled telephones..."

"What a _racket_."

" _And how_. Just imagine what it will come of the written word."

"A travesty..."

"Truly... So, how'd it go?"

"Good."

"That's _it_?" _What is with him and his secret conversations_? I got the good stuff out of Leslie, but Luke would be a harder nut to crack.

"We had a good talk… We're good." I could tell that he was smiling as he spoke; He knew it was going to drive me crazy not knowing what they talked about. _Butt-faced miscreant._ "How about Emily? Do I need body armor for tonight?"

I still hadn't figured that one out. _I should have asked my mom her thoughts on the Emily conversation._ "I'm going to guess no, but only because she just had her floors refinished. I cannot make promises for any non-bodily harm."

"I'll take those odds. Should I pick you up at your place?"

"The office probably…"

"You're going to let _me_ into the office?" He was teasing me again.

"I'm sifting through all of these new potential leads, seeing as I get to have my pick… I will meet you _downstairs_."

"Whatever you say, Ace. _4:30_. Emily will kill both of us if we're late."

"Don't I know it."

I really did have quite the stack of leads in my box; Gerry was serious about giving me my choice. In the back of my head I heard what Logan and Leslie had said about him needing to keep me happy, and wondering how this was going to play out. If Gerry really _is_ trying to keep me happy, he's going to run what I write, which would negate the need I had to sell freelance. But if I don't do more freelance writing, I could be missing out on other opportunities… maybe even another shot at the The Times.

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N- Hope you're still enjoying as much as I am... There's a few extra references in there for anyone who is paying attention. That was always one of my favorite parts of the show; I felt like I found kindred, pop-culture obsessed spirits in the Gilmore universe. Anyway, looking ahead, you might start to see some other changes... Not to the overall direction of the story, but hopefully it will help keep my from writing myself into a corner.  
As always, thank you so much for the support you have all been showing my story. I am blessed to have followers who appreciate what I am doing. Keep the love coming! xxoo


	21. Chapter 21: Living Out the Cossacks

I continued to struggle with my conundrum throughout the afternoon as I looked into a few of the stories. Just after four o'clock, Les stopped at my desk on her way to get yet another cup of coffee, clearly working hard to make it through the day after her night out with Finn.

"Too much fun last night?"

She smiled playfully, "No such thing… So, how ugly could dinner get tonight?"

"I don't know, but there is definitely the potential for more drama."

She shook her head, "I don't get it… I mean, alright… it's _kind of_ a shock for you to be back together, but it's the two of you dating, not them."

I eyed the clock, I still needed to change for dinner and I had less than a half an hour before Logan would be waiting downstairs. "How much work are you _actually_ doing?"

"Honestly, I emailed in my draft half an hour ago, so… pretty much none."

"Let's go."

I grabbed my bag and led her to the bathroom. Thankfully it was empty so I while I got dressed I was free to try and explain the twisted world in which I sometimes lived in.

"Our families, his in particular, are part of this _surreal_ world of money and society that makes the two of us dating a much bigger deal than it should be."

"I'm well aware of the _money_." She made sure to add an affected accent to that bit. "All those stories the guys were telling the other night… _Man_ I wish I had the money to buy myself out of trouble like that, or just take off without a care in the world."

For a second an image of her and Finn popped into my head, "Be careful what you wish for…"

"Okay, so really, Rory, besides Logan's mom going all Real Housewives on you, what's the big deal?"

"Trust me, East Coast society is _not_ Real Housewives. There are no knock down drag out fights or public shouting matches. It's all about keeping up appearances. Remember the fact that Shira didn't know that I was listening to that phone call. In their world it's all smiles and playing nice to each other's faces and then spreading rumors behind your back in the country club gossip mill."

"How _WASP-y_ …"

" _Very_. It's all a big contest… for instance did you know that there's a building named after me at Yale? It's supposed to be an honor, but it's mostly just something major for my grandparents to show off."

"You have your own _building_ at Yale?"

I glared at her. That was so not the point. " _Yes_ , but the point is that everybody in that world has old money and pedigrees; your name and who you are friends with are all important. It's all about showing off… Reminding people that you belong and being associated with the right people."

" _Okay_ …" She wasn't getting this.

"And according to Shira Huntzberger, I'm not the _right people_." _My turn for the affected accent._

"Who anointed her Don Corleone?" I smiled remembering a similar reference my mother once made.

"No one… She married into money, bigger money than even my grandparents have, thus her high and mighty attitude."

"What a bunch of bull."

"You're telling me." I thought for a second about what I told Logan yesterday, about wanting to face Shira. _Definitely_. "Anyway… I already told you everything she said on the phone. Logan's grandfather isn't any better. The first time they met me, they practically burned me at the stake for deigning to believe that I could marry into their family."

"But you _just_ got back together. It's not like you're getting married… _are you_?"

" _No_ , but it certainly didn't matter then. I think Logan and I had officially been together for like _two days_ at that point. And we were in college. Now…" I took a deep breath, mentally replaying Shira's spiteful words. "Now it's all about how I'm a risk to their company and Logan's reputation to be seen with _a girl like me_ … about how it will _look_ for people to see us back together. Oh, and once other people know that we're together again all hell will break loose. There will be rumors about why I turned him down before, and why he left, and what happened to bring us back… It's going to be a big, complicated _mess_."

" _Damn_ … Way better than Real Housewives."

I glared at her, but I knew she was trying to smooth out the rather harsh tone this conversation had taken.

"I'm sorry I just unloaded all of that on you… It's kind of been bottling up."

"It's a lot of pressure… I get it. I mean as much as I can grasp I guess; Bowie and Mercury would probably really get it."

" _Funny_." I checked my watch, 4:33. "Crap, I've got to get downstairs."

"I'll grab my stuff and come with… a good excuse to continue to waste my day."

We hurriedly passed through the lobby and out to the curb. Sure enough, Logan was waiting in his Porsche with a slightly perturbed look on his face.

"Come on, Ace… We don't need to give the firing squad extra ammo."

"I know, I'm _sorry_ …" I climbed in the car and tried to get my things situated, _easier said than done in a Porsche._

Leslie leaned into the open window, "Nice ride, Huntzberger."

He smiled and nodded in acknowledgement, "Leslie… I hear _you_ had a good time last night."

She raised her eyebrows, "I _always_ have a good time. I'm hoping to have one again tonight."

Logan couldn't hold back a laugh at that one, finally understanding why she and Finn might be a volatile concoction. "Yea, well don't do anything Ace wouldn't do."

"Then I'd have _no_ fun at all."

"I guess you don't know her as well as you _think_ you do then..." He winked suggestively enough for me to hide my face in my hands.

These two had really found a rhythm with their sarcasm and dirty jokes. I appreciated it, even if it was sometimes at my own expense, "Are you about done?"

"Sorry, you're right; that was ungentlemanly of me…" He inflated his apology and continued in an overly formal tone, "Rory is very respectable and I love her very much."

She feigned disgust, " _Ugh_ , you guys are too much with this perfect couple crap."

He smirked, "That's the idea…"

Leslie rolled her eyes, "Get out of here… and good luck!"

I was finally settled, so we did indeed get out of there. I really was glad that Logan and Leslie were getting along. _At least that's one thing in my life that's easy._

On the drive I filled Logan in on my struggle at work, if you could call having too many options a struggle. He empathized with my challenge, but I could tell that he thought I should be going for big things. Bigger than The Post.

"You can still do both. Gerry can't fire you for working outside; it's in your contract. And I still think he's going to play ball to keep you on staff. Besides, if you've got a stack of leads in front of you, what's keeping you from pursuing more than one?"

"I don't know, maybe the fact that I could be _taking_ them from my coworkers. I feel like I'm stealing from them as it is, but at least I'm putting them in their paper."

"You _do_ realize that this is not a group project... Just because they suggested something doesn't mean they get credit for the work, Ace. If you find something you want to write about, _do it_. And if you happen to want to push it somewhere else that's your prerogative; you've earned that."

"I just feel like I'm walking a very fine line on the edge of journalistic integrity."

"Rory, these are just ideas, not even fully developed ideas. You're not taking somebody else's work. And as far as _integrity_ goes, you will do more justice to any story than the next guy, so really you'd be _increasing_ the integrity of the business."

He wants big things for me; _I have to give him credit for that_. "Are you _trying_ to get me poached from The Post?"

He looked at me through the corner of his eye as he drove and smiled, "Only if you want to be."

I shook my head. _Always a troublemaker_.

"Hey, I know you like your job, and you've worked your way up there, but you shouldn't ignore other opportunities. If you want to stay at The Post that's great, and other interest in you will only make them value you more, so you can't really lose."

 _He really does know how to work this industry_. Even if I won't let him use his influence to affect my career, it was nice to have him on my side.

"So what about you? Have you had to deal with Mitchum yet?"

He sighed. "I have a meeting with him first thing Monday morning. We're supposed to go contracts to make sure they're ready to be signed as soon as we officially launch in New York. Speaking of which…" There was a long pause.

"What?" His hesitation was making me nervous.

"I have to be in California for most of next week… Have to make sure we have everything structured to run on its own with the staff we have out there, and make the final move of our major operations…"

"…Get all the ducks in a row?"

"Right." He looked uncomfortable. I already knew that business trips and long hours are par for the course, so I wasn't sure why he seemed concerned having to tell me about it.

"Okay… so, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I guess."

" _Logan_ … _"_

He hesitated again. "I don't know… We're finally where _we_ are supposed to be, _we're good_ , but now we're dealing with everything else, and… leaving you for California just seems…"

 _He feels guilty._ This was not going to work if he's going to feel guilty every time he has to work in California.

"Logan, you are not _leaving_ me for California. You are _going_ to take care of your company. You have responsibilities; I get it… y _ou're a busy man_." I hoped I wasn't hitting a nerve by referencing that dramatic lunch that started all of this, but I couldn't help it.

He finally smiled a little, "So you're okay with this?"

" _Of course_. I'm never going to _love_ you being away, but we've done this before. Business trips are part of the deal being with a _captain of industry_ … _I still need to find you a hat, by the way_. But the point is, it's inevitable, so we'll handle it… I'll _miss_ you, but we'll handle it."

"Really?"

"Logan…" I gave him a look suggesting that he was being ridiculous, but I could tell that it was still bothering him a little. " _We're good_."

He finally managed a real smile, and he took my hand. "You are something else, Ace."

We lightened the mood for the rest of the drive, postulating about how this whole Leslie and Finn thing would play out. Unfortunately, as we pulled in the Gilmore's driveway, we returned to a more somber temperament. I was really hoping that Mom and Luke would already be here for some moral support, but no such luck.

We sat in the car, looking up at the house. I was suddenly very anxious. "Are you sure about this?"

" _Rory_." He gave me a look, reminding me that it _had_ to be done.

I took a deep breath trying to prepare myself, "Okay, let's go."

I finally stepped out of the car, took the few steps up to the doorway and I found myself staring at the bell. _Maybe this really isn't a good idea._ What if all this time we haven't been talking about Logan has just been time that Grandma has been harboring deep seeded resentment. Grandma and harboring resentment are never a good combination…

"Ready?" Logan appeared next to me, squeezing my hand and pulling me out of my internal panic. I glanced down at our hands, and then noticed that in his other hand he was holding a large bouquet of flowers, presumably retrieved from the trunk.

I smiled, "Hostess gift?"

He smirked in return, "Always."

 _One more deep breath_. "Okay. Let's do this." I rang the bell.

The door flew open and my grandmother was standing on the other side with a smile on her face, "There's our intrepid reporter! And Logan, so wonderful to see you."

 _What just happened?_ Logan was still holding my hand so I knew I was still upright… I wasn't passed out or hallucinating or something.

"Well, don't just stand there, come in..."

She opened the door wider, but I was pretty much rooted where I stood. _I don't understand_.

Thankfully, Logan pulled himself together first, "Emily, lovely to see you, as always."

Ever the charmer, he complimented the house as stepped inside and handed her the flowers.

"Logan, they're absolutely lovely. I'll have Claudia put them in water for us." She handed them off to the maid before turning back to where I had been frozen. " _Rory_?"

I finally snapped out of it… _a little_.

"Uh… Yea… Um, Hi Grandma." I tentatively stepped toward her and she wrapped me in a brisk hug before taking my coat and purse.

"Well alright then, your grandfather is waiting in the living room..." She whispered behind her hand as she directed us out of the foyer, "I'll be just a minute." She gestured to the maid, signaling that she was going to check up on her.

 _Is this really happening?_ It was like she has totally forgotten the last four years, like they had never happened; like it was completely normal for us to show up to dinner together.

I gave Logan a dumbfounded look as we walked toward the living room. He was clearly as surprised as I was but shrugged his shoulders and whispered, "Unless there's a firing squad around the corner, I say we don't ask questions."

It made me laugh a little and he put his hand on my back to reassure me as we walked into the living room to face Richard.

"Rory! Logan!"

"Hi Grandpa." I had taken what Logan said to heart about not asking questions, _for now_. If I was lucky, my mom would be just as weirded-out as I was and ask about it first.

"Come, sit, sit, and let's get some drinks, shall we? Let's see… a martini with a twist and a scotch neat, correct?"

"Yes sir, thank you."

Logan and I exchanged another set of uneasy glances. _They're really acting as if no time has passed at all_.

"You should know Rory, that I've already made sure that everyone at the club has seen your article in The Times…"

"He practically left a copy on every tee on the golf course." Emily had found her way back into the living room.

"Oh please Emily, you say that as if you didn't pass it around to all of the ladies at the DAR meeting yesterday." Grandpa distractedly handed us our drinks as he continued the back and forth with his wife. We were more than grateful to take them, each of us immediately taking a large sip _. This is going to be one of those nights_.

"And they were _very_ impressed that one of our own has made such a big accomplishment. You should be proud, Rory."

"Thank you, I am. It's very exciting."

"Did you do anything to celebrate?"

"Uhm, a little… Logan had the article framed for me."

My grandfather looked to Logan as if he was proud of him, "Good man."

 _This is crazy_ , but better than the alternative I guess. I glanced at Logan; he really is a good man for taking this all in stride. "You could practically call him Charlie Brown."

"Hey, you did all the work, Ace. I'm just a humble supporter." He put his hand on my knee.

I caught a glimpse of my grandmother, practically beaming at the little moment we had just had. _At this rate she would be asking about baby names before desert_. As if sent by God himself, the doorbell rang and interrupted whatever train of thought she was having. _Thank God._

Emily let the maid answer the door this time, and as the rest of my family came inside I could see a look of utter surprise on the faces of Luke and my mother when they saw the four of us sharing drinks and smiling, or doing our best to smile, like old times.

Luke had to come to first when Landon, who he had been holding, wanted to make a break for it towards Grandpa, "Hey, everyone…"

Emily stood up, "Oh good you're here; we were just about to toast to Rory's success."

Since Richard was busy balancing his favorite grandson in one arm and his drink in his other hand, Grandma got drinks for Mom and Luke.

Grandpa raised his glass first, "To Rory…"

" _And_ her humble supporters" Grandma gave Logan a knowing look; he barely held back a startled laugh and I was found myself completely wide eyed hearing my grandmother's sly addition to the toast. We were both in disbelief. _What is happening here?_

Mom had taken part in the toast but I could tell that she hadn't stopped assessing the situation since she walked in. I saw her eyes go from her mother, who still had a smile on her face, to me and Logan as we returned to our seats. She was making a face at me from across the coffee table, wordlessly asking _what the hell was going on_. I did my best to tell her to chill for now, but I don't think she got the message.

"I hope the two of you have had a chance to read the article. I've got a copy in my study."

Luke glanced at my mom, who was clearly still getting a grasp on what was playing out in front of her, so he replied to Grandpa, "Yes, we have. Rory sent us one…"

Logan jumped in, "And we have the extras you asked for in the car."

"Oh good, you have extra copies! We would love one or two if you can spare them."

"Sure, Grandma, we have a ton… Logan bought every copy he could find."

She was beaming at us again, " _Of course_ he did. He's proud."

Logan gave me another sideways glance and a smile, "Very."

" _I'm sorry_ …" My mother had finally come out of her haze of confusion and interrupted the conversation at hand, "but did we take a wrong turn somewhere and end up in _Stepford_?"

"Lorelei, what _are_ you talking about? Honestly, you've only been here five minutes and you've already started with the sarcasm."

 _Oh no._ " _Mom…_ " I was counting on her to get to the bottom of this eventually, but I was hoping for something a little more subtle. I tried to give her one more _not now_ look, but it was no use… _There was_ _no stopping her_.

"I'm talking about _this_ …" She waved her arms around in a decidedly Lorelei Gilmore manner, "This _one big happy family_ thing."

"Is there something _wrong_ with being happy? We are celebrating _your_ daughter's achievement."

" _And Logan_ being a proud boyfriend… not that I'm _opposed_ to it, I'm glad he's proud, he should be, but… I'm just a little confused here…"

Grandpa stepped in with a warning, "Lorelai…" but Emily wasn't finished.

" _What_ are you confused about, Lorelai?"

This really is like old times. I only wish that this particular mother-daughter verbal tennis match wasn't revolving around us.

"I'm just wondering if I missed the part where you _freak out_ about the two of them being here, and being together after everything…"

"Would you _like_ us to ' _freak out'_?"

"No… I guess not, but…"

"Luke doesn't seem to be ' _freaking out'_ and not that it means anything to Landon, but he seems perfectly content. You must have known what was going on, and are more concerned with me than them, so why should I be ' _freaking out'_?"

"Gee, I don't know… because you're _Emily Gilmore_? You freak out about things like… un-pressed napkins."

"Well is it really _so hard_ to set a proper table?"

"Linens are _not_ the point, Mom."

Their voices had escalated during their squabble, but Emily paused and composed herself.

"Look, if this is what makes them happy, which it _certainly_ seems to, then so be it. They are adults, and if they are really going to try and make something of this, then whatever concerns we may have had really won't matter at all. If they can put the past behind them, so can we. Let's not pretend that they won't be up against other _obstacles_ , but _we_ don't need to be one of them."

She had clearly given this a lot of thought, and we all knew what she meant by other _obstacles_. There were a few seconds of anxious silence when we all let her little speech set in.

Grandpa cleared his throat, "So, can I freshen up anyone's drink."

"Yes." Luke, Logan and I all responded in unison, ready to dissipate the tension.

Mom on the other hand was not quite satisfied yet. She leaned into her mother, "So this is just _no big deal_?"

Luke and Grandpa were asking Logan about moving back to New York, but I was more interested in eavesdropping on Mom and Grandma's whispered aside.

" _Of course it's a big deal_."

"Then why are you so unconcerned about it?"

"Lorelei, I am not unconcerned. Was I surprised to hear that Rory was bringing him tonight? Yes. Am I apprehensive about how this will play out? _Of course_. But your father and I made the mistake of forcing our way into your relationships before, and it resulted in losing you and Rory for far too long. We aren't going to repeat that mistake with them. Besides… they're going to need all the support they can get."

This revelation had my mom more surprised than ever, and I had to admit that I was in that boat with her. _Emily was not only accepting, but backing us, no questions asked._ I think I actually felt hell freezing over.

The rest of the night was unbelievably pleasant. Grandpa inquired about how Logan's work was going, congratulating him on his success. Logan avoided the topic of the merger for now, but was appropriately gracious.

I updated everyone on the residual effects of my Times article on the dynamic at The Post. They all agreed with Logan, that I should take full advantage of the situation.

Thankfully the topic of our relationship had been put to rest for the evening. No discussion of how it came to be, or what we were planning for the future, which was especially good since he and I have not directly broached that subject ourselves. When we were leaving for the night I was still in disbelief of how smoothly it had gone.

Logan went out to the car to get the extra copies of the paper, Grandma was fawning over Landon, who was on the verge of falling asleep, and for the first time that evening I had a chance to talk to Grandpa, just the two of us.

"This is what you want? You're happy?"

I smiled, and nodded earnestly.

"And he's treating you well?"

"Very."

"Well, alright then." He was much less dramatic about his feelings on the subject than Grandma, but I was very comforted by his concern.

After Logan came back with the papers, we said our goodbyes and walked out with Mom and Luke.

"Well, that was bizarre." I think Mom might have actually been a little jealous of Grandma's acceptance.

"I'm not complaining." I had nothing to complain about. _My family is okay with this._ I never would have imagined it.

Landon was falling asleep on Luke's shoulder. "Well, I think we've had enough excitement for one night." He hugged me with his free arm, and held out his hand to Logan.

"Logan…"

"Luke…" Logan returned the gesture and they shook hands with a smile. _They were good._ Another thing that I was still a little baffled by, but wasn't going to complain about.

I said goodnight to Landon and we walked to the car. Mom followed us so she could get her extra copies of the paper.

"Well, I guess you're in the clear."

Logan laughed, "I wouldn't exactly say that…"

Mom turned and looked at him very seriously. He wasn't expecting it, but he quickly focused.

"You're in this, right? You're not going to let her go through the ringer with your parents, and then…"

"Lorelai…"

"…because she doesn't deserve…"

"I'm in this. _We_ are in this." He paused for a second, and then smiled, "We could go get some pie, if it would make you feel better…"

She shook her head, "You better watch it, kid. I'm serious about her…"

He was done joking around, " _So am I_."

She took a deep breath. I think she trusted him; she trusted that _I_ trusted him, anyway. "Okay."

I did my best to conceal the smile creeping across my face. I was always a little amused by the fact that _my mother_ was one of the few people that intimidated Logan.

Mom got her papers and we said our goodbyes before heading our separate ways. Even with all of the support she gave me while I was figuring this out I knew she was probably the most worried of anyone, but for different reasons.

When Logan got in the car I gave him a well-deserved kiss.

"What was that for?"

"You earned it."

He accepted my reasoning with a smile. When we were getting close to the city he asked, "So, can I talk you into coming home with me, or do I need to make sure you make it into that citadel of yours?"

"You _really_ hate that apartment."

"I hate that you _live_ in that apartment."

"I have managed to live there for almost three years with no major incidents; I _think_ you can relax."

"Three years in that neighborhood with no incidents? You're coming due for _something_ , Ace."

"If I come home with you tonight will you give it a rest?"

He smirked, "For now."

We got back to his place and I practically collapsed on the bed. The last couple of days had been exhausting, but I hadn't noticed how tired I actually was until that minute.

He laughed at me, "Worn out, Ace?"

" _Ugh._ I feel like we're living out The Cossacks."

He threw a pair of sweatpants at me, "Alright Tolstoy, let's go to bed."

I climbed into bed, he kissed my forehead before reminding me that he loves me, and I fell into the best sleep I'd had in weeks.

* * *

** I do not own an content or characters related to Gilmore Girls, or any other entities mention. **

A/N - I do love me some Gilmore drama... Emily is always so fun to write for. Hope you enjoy!

Follow, Favorite and Comment, please! I love hearing your feedback, and this story is only one follow away from 100! Love to all my loyal readers! xxoo


	22. Chapter 22: Hildy-freaking-Johnson

When I woke up the next morning Logan was already out of bed and I could smell coffee brewing downstairs. I followed the pleasant aroma to find him sitting at the counter reading the paper.

"Two bylines in one week… Better watch out or Mitchum's going to have to swallow his pride and get in line to poach you himself."

The first in my space shuttle series made The Post this morning. I kissed him on my way to pour myself a cup of coffee and mused, "Yea, _that's_ going to happen." I rolled my eyes at the thought. "But wouldn't that would be _great;_ working at a paper, owned by my boyfriend's father, who happens to be married to the person who quite possible dislikes me more than _anyone_ on the planet."

"Oh what tangled webs we weave."

"…All in the name of journalism."

" _So_ …" His slow segue had me intrigued. "I have to have lunch with the editors of this paper we've been with about their launch tomorrow, but I was about to hop in the shower… _care to join me_?"

" _Working blue this early_?"

" _Hey_ , I've got places to be later."

My phone rang, interrupting our suggestive banter. Logan was visibly disappointed, so I glanced the screen to see if I could put it off… It was Dominic.

"Sorry, mister. I've got to take this."

He made sure to demonstrate _just_ how disappointed he was by making a face and essentially stomping his way up the stairs as I answered the phone. _So mature_.

"Hey, Dominic."

"Gilmore, I know it's Saturday, but I've got a proposition for you…"

A proposition? _Interesting_. "What kind of proposition?"

"I told you that the agency wants to see more from you; and that my buddy at The Times is interested in seeing more of your stuff…"

 _Shot in the dark, here…_ "And you have something in mind?"

"I do actually, but it would be a risk… for both of us."

 _For both of us?_ "How so?"

"Well, it's my job within the _agency_ to get our writers published as often as I can, but it's my job as _your_ editor to help you get your work where _you_ want it to go. Now, you pretty much jumped at the chance to shoot for The Times, so I'm guessing that _that's_ where you want to see your stuff."

"It's _The New York Times_." _Duh_.

He laughed, "That's what I figured. I've been looking into more of your portfolio…" I had sent The Abridged Works of Rory Gilmore to him after I signed my contract, figuring it couldn't hurt to let him know who I was as a reporter. "The work you did on the campaign in '08 was good, a little raw, but good. And you've definitely come a long way as a writer since then."

"Thanks, but…"

"So here's my proposition… update your political portfolio."

" _That's_ your proposition, to write about politics?" _Hardly reinventing the wheel.._ _._

He heard the lack of enthusiasm in my voice, so he continued his pitch. "Yea, well, there's more to it than that. You focus on getting some articles my way, and I will focus on getting them seen at The Times. We'll stick with it being our main focus, which is where the risk comes in. The same rules apply as the first time around… we could shop to wider markets and probably get you copy every time, or we _only_ shoot for The Times, which has the same stakes as before. It's a high risk, high reward situation… but if you're up for it, I think it could lead to big things."

 _Big things?_ "How big?"

"Look at it this way; I don't exactly know what your situation is at The Post, but we're only a few months away from potential candidacy announcements for next years' presidential race. The Times is going to be looking for coverage from start to finish, and you've already got campaign experience."

 _Is he serious?_ "You think I've got a shot at something?"

"I think that getting your first article published was a _start_ at a shot. Obviously it's a _long_ shot, but they know your name now. If we can keep them interested in you, and use your resume to your advantage…"

"So, what are we talking here… consistent freelance work?"

"Honestly, it's hard to say. I mean, yea, there's obviously potential for that, but…"

My breath was caught in my throat… _Was he really saying I could be getting in at The Times? Like in, in?_ " _But_?"

"Look it's not like they're posting job listings, but it's not _unheard_ of for them to take on staff during election season…"

Staff. _He said staff_. As in staff at The New York Times.

"… Like I said, this is a _long_ shot, and we'd have a lot of work to do between now and when something even _might_ come up, but I really think you've got what it takes if you're interested in the chance."

I've got _what it takes_. I couldn't help but laugh. I would have given anything to have Mitchum sitting in on this conversation.

"Gilmore?"

"Yea?" _Oh I guess I have to give him an answer_. "Yes, of course I'm interested. It's the chance of a lifetime."

"That's what I was hoping to hear because this is going to be _a lot_ of work from you, especially considering you're still with The Post. And honestly it could potentially be for very little pay off. I mean, a few more bylines in The Times is nothing to scoff at, but there's no real guarantee in what we're really hoping for."

This was _incredible_. A _real_ chance at getting my foot in the door… _I should really thank Gerry for turning that piece down._ The thought of Gerry made the risk seem very real. If this panned out I could be walking away from The Post, but it held the potential of my dream job. And Dominic... _Wait... If this is such a big risk, why would he do it?_

"Dominic, what's in this for you?"

"What?"

"You said _you're_ taking a risk only pushing my work at The Times, when you could definitely sell it elsewhere. Why is it worth the risk?"

He chuckled, "You're smart, Gilmore... and I'd love to tell you that it's all about integrity and wanting to get the best writers their best chances. But a straight answer? Building your career builds mine. If other writers see that I got you into the second most circulated paper in the country, they're going to want the same."

Logan's words rang in my ears as I repeated them aloud, " _It's how the industry works..."_

"Bingo…" _At least he's being honest_. "…So, now that you know my ulterior motives, you still want to take the gamble?"

I didn't hesitate, "I'm in."

"Good. Get working on updating that portfolio and start sending things my way."

I hung up the phone. I took a deep breath. I needed to keep perspective here… getting that article published in The Times was probably just a one in a million shot; there was _no way_ that this would pan out; there isn't even a real job to be working for, this is all just going on a chance that they'll want someone in the future. But if they _do_ want someone, it could be _me_. " _Holy crap_."

I didn't even realize that I had said it out loud until I heard a concerned Logan behind me, "Everything okay?"

I had been so wrapped up in my own head that I hadn't even heard him come downstairs. "I think so."

"You _think_ so?"

I spoke slowly, still trying to process all of it myself. "I just got off the phone with Dominic. He has proposed that I focus on some more political pieces… kind of an update to my work on the campaign. He thinks it will serve me well going forward… he thinks that with next year's election starting to ramp up, The Times will be looking for people to cover it... He thinks I could have a shot at something more than a couple of freelance bylines."

The crease in Logan's worried brow dissipated as I summarized the conversation and his face widened into a smile, "You're going to do it, right? You _have_ to do it."

"Yea… I mean, I told him I am, _but_ …" Suddenly my previous lack of hesitation seemed careless, but… "No, you're right, I have to do it. I'm going to do it… Realistically it's more than likely that nothing will come of it and I'll end up writing a bunch of pieces that will never see the light of day, but there is still a chance. Of course there's _also_ a chance that I'm just opening myself up to be rejected by them _again_. But if I don't do it I'll never know and I'll probably never get another opportunity. On the other hand, is it crazy to put all my eggs in a basket for a long shot _chance_?"

"Rory, _calm down_." I realized I had been rambling. _This is what pro-con lists were for_. He took me by the shoulders, "Is The Times still what you want?"

 _Be honest_. "It's what I've _always_ wanted."

He looked me in the eye, "Then _jump_."

"Jump?"

"Yes. _Jump_." I got it; he was referring to that first Life and Death Brigade weekend, but taking a literal leap and messing with a career are two very different things. "You said it yourself, Ace, it's probably a long shot anyway, but it's not going to hurt anyone to try. You've got a stack of leads on your desk; there's got to be _something_ there. Dig through and find something worth writing about."

"What about The Post? They get first go at everything I write."

"If you're really focusing on politics, it's not going be what your editor is looking for anyway, not at the depth The Times is going to want."

"It's going to be a lot of work…"

He laughed, "It's going to be a _ton_ of work. You're going to have to be _Hildy-freaking-Johnson_ , but if anyone can do it, it's you."

" _Wow_. You should start making those motivational posters, you know with the stock images and the black frames…"

"Maybe I'll propose the venture as part of the merger... But I was serious about that His Girl Friday bit."

I took a deep breath… If I didn't hesitate before it's because I knew it's what I really wanted. _I can't let me talk myself out of it now._ "Okay."

He smiled, "Good… now kiss me before I leave for my meeting."

" _Jeeze_ you're bossy…" I obliged anyway.

"That's the idea. I can't let these guys get turn into _you_ and try to over complicate things right before we launch with their Sunday edition tomorrow… Speaking of, there's going to be a thing tomorrow night; you should come."

"A _thing_?" _I'm not sure I like the sound of this_.

"Yea, a launch thing, you know… cocktails, fancy hors d'oeurves, forced conversations…"

 _He was really selling it._ "Sounds like a _blast_ … and don't think I missed that jab about over complicating things."

He smirked, choosing to believe that he'd gotten away with it. "So what do you say? I'm going to need someone to rescue me from all of the 'What's next?' questions that I can't really answer since everything is still supposed to be _hush-hush_ …"

"And who's going to rescue _me_ when you actually have people to talk to?"

"Bring Leslie…"

"Who is going to want to bring Finn."

"Then it will _really_ be a party." He raised his eyebrows hopefully.

My hesitation really had nothing to do with being bored while he mingled. "I don't know if it's a good idea…"

" _Inviting Finn_? I mean, it's always a _little_ risky, but…"

" _Not Finn_. I mean me going with you… to a _work_ thing."

He lost the goofy look and sighed. He knew what I was getting at. Besides our families, well _his_ family really, work was going to be the biggest hurdle in our relationship. "It's just a party, Ace."

"A _work_ party."

It meant everything for him to have agreed to keep our relationship separate from my career, but realistically I knew that it would be more complicated than I had hoped. His family was royalty in the journalism industry; an industry in which I was merely common folk.

"Yes, it's a _work_ party, but…"

"Logan, I don't want…"

He was getting frustrated. "How are you really expecting this to work, Ace? I get what you're worried about, I do, but how far can we take this?"

"I don't know…" I didn't want to fight with him, not after how well we had been handling everything together.

"Are we _never_ going to be seen together at anything work related? Are we supposed to act like we don't know each other at _any_ event remotely related to a newspaper? If that's the case we're going to be spending more time pretending _not_ to be in a relationship than _actually_ being in one."

"It's just that…" _How can I explain this to him?_ "…I don't want everyone else to think what your parents _already_ think… that I have a career because of you."

His frustration ebbed, but he was still serious, " _Rory_ … you and I both know that that is _not_ true, and so do plenty of other people. Anybody that has read your work knows that you deserve to be getting the chances that you are… and as far as I'm concerned, anyone that says different is an asshole."

"You realize that you just …"

"I know _exactly_ what I said about them. And as for tomorrow, the party's just about making sure the investors are happy; impressing some advertisers, helping the editors make some contacts... things that have to happen for a small paper, but it's not a huge event. I don't want you do anything you don't want to do, but…"

"You _really_ want me to be there?"

" _Of course_ I want you to be there. _I love you, Rory_. I want you to be with me for everything… Isn't that the point of all this? You and me… _together_."

 _He's right_. And he was right about me over-complicating things, but I still felt like this might be too much… at least for now. This is all just too new.

"I guess _…_ "

" _You guess_?"

"No… it _is_ the point. I meant… I guess I'll go to…" I was having another thought; like when I had convinced him only a couple of weeks ago to _date_. "You can take me to the party… but not as your girlfriend."

He was surprised, having thought he had already won me over. "Excuse me?"

"I will come to the party, but not as…"

"So you'll be there, but I have to pretend that I don't know you?"

This could be messy now that I was thinking about it, but _too late now_. "No; you can know me, but not _know me_ , know me." Logan stared blankly at me. "Think of it like a compromise… I'll be there, just not as your date. We can be friends, or associates or whatever, but not _boyfriend and girlfriend_."

" _Ace_ …" He clearly thought I was being ridiculous, and admittedly maybe I was.

I gave him a pleading look. I know I'm being difficult, but I just…

He was skeptical; looking at me through narrowed eyes, obviously weighing the ludicrousness of my request. "Fine."

"Really?" _I wasn't sure that was going to work._

"For _now_." He meant it, and I could tell that he wasn't going to put up with this for long.

I exhaled. "Deal."

All of a sudden, he looked apprehensive, "And _we're_ okay?"

This was the closest thing we'd had to a fight since we've been back together… I didn't like it, but the fact that neither one of us stormed off in the middle of it meant that we were handling points of contention much better than we had in the past.

"We're good."

He kissed me, " _Good_ …" He got up and started to gather things to leave for his meeting.

"Logan…"

"Yea, Ace?"

I couldn't explain it, but in that moment I was so grateful for how far we had come. "Thank you."

He cocked his head to the side. "For what?"

"I don't know… understanding, I guess."

He shrugged. "It's _complicated_." _There's that damn word again_. "But we'll figure it out."

He was so confident in his response; _we'll figure it out_. I eyed him, pretending to be skeptical, "When did you get to be so mature?"

He was finally smiling again, "Me? _Mature_? I don't know… it probably started about the time you forced me to be in a committed relationship…"

"I did not _force_ you… In fact, I think I actually tried to talk you out of it."

"And where would we be if I had let you?" _He had me there…_ I conceded and was rewarded with a kiss. "I have to get to this meeting, are you busy tonight?"

"I don't know, I think I'm going to head to the office…" The reality of the whole Dominic situation was sinking in. "I _guess_ I've got some digging to do."

He smirked; _he was genuinely excited for me_ , "Knock 'em dead, Hildy. I'll call you later."

Another kiss and he was out the door, off on another expedition as a captain of industry.

I took the train to the office and got to sifting through the folders on my desk. I was going to need to find something great to follow up my space shuttle series so that I would have _something_ for Gerry to be pleased with when I tell him that I'm going to be pushing more freelance work. And I needed to be thinking ahead for articles for my portfolio… maybe find something that would become a hot button issue for upcoming platforms.

After narrowing the stack from very large, to moderately sized I called it a day, but ultimately ended up taking a few things home to look into.

Late in the afternoon my phone buzzed on the table next to me, flashing Leslies number, "Hey, I just got a call about an invitation to a launch party for some online paper… you wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?"

"It's not _my_ party, but I have heard talk of it…" _Of course he officially invited her_.

"So were you going to tell me that you scored me an invite?"

"Well, yea… but I hadn't heard from you today and I didn't want to _interrupt_ whatever you might be wrapped up in…" I didn't even really want to _think_ about what, _or who_ , she might have been wrapped up in.

She filled me in on the events of the newly minted Three Musketeers, minus the more intimate details as per my request. It had been another successful outing for her and Finn, though apparently Colin struck out in his attempts to distract himself from his mundane life of as a responsible adult. _Bummer._

"So what have you been up to today?"

"Working…"

" _Working_?"

"Yea, I'm going to have to be doing a lot of that for the foreseeable future. Dominic's got a plan in the works for me… Why?"

" _First of all_ , I thought that having _Logan_ back in your life was going to loosen you up a bit…"

"Sorry to disappoint, but he's working today too."

"Well don't you two have the whole power couple thing down…"

" _The new Kennedy's."_

"Anyway, as long as Camelot is standing and we're going to this party, I need to get something to wear."

"Les, I'd love to help you in this time of crisis, but I'm up to my elbows in research and leads."

" _Ugh_. What would Jackie O. say?"

"Ask not what your busy friends can do for you, but what you can do with your Visa?"

"Always clever..."

"I try… and tell me again why you can't wear something that you already own?"

"What fun would _that_ be?"

"I don't know… maybe it would be fun like being able to pay more than the minimum on our credit card bills?"

"Says the girl who's probably sitting in her boyfriend's _penthouse_ right now."

"I am not. I'm sitting at my own crappy kitchen table"

" _Why_?"

"What do you mean, why? _This is where I live_. Why do I have to keep answering questions like that?"

"I know that _Logan_ has asked that question."

"Are you conspiring with him again?"

"Nope, that one I deduced all on my own. So why are you fighting it? It's not like you haven't lived together before."

"I'm not _fighting_ it. He _technically_ hasn't brought it up. He just continues to take snide passes at my apartment about how it's in a bad neighborhood and it's a dump and…"

"But it _is_ a dump in a crappy neighborhood."

"I know that, but it's _my_ dump in a crappy neighborhood, and it's not like you aren't in the same boat; your apartment is hardly Versailles. We're reporters in New York City, this is how it's _supposed_ to be. It might be a dumpy apartment that I put _way_ too much of my paycheck into, but it's a life I made for myself, you know?"

"So this is about _pride_?"

" _What_?"

"You're avoiding moving in with Logan because you are _supposed_ to be living in a crap hole? I mean, _Go Rory_ , you made it in the big city, but _come on_ … You're not moving in with the guy who loves you, a guy that wants to, _and can_ , give you everything you could possibly want or need…

"But I don't _need_ anything. I don't _need_ to live in a penthouse; I don't _need_ him to give me fancy things…" I laughed to myself, "I'm actually pretty terrible at being on the receiving end of fancy things; you should have seen his face when I didn't know what a Birkin Bag was…"

"What?"

"I actually considered putting my computer chords in it…"

"I'm sorry… He gave you _a Birkin Bag!_?"

I guess I should have known better than to think that I could pass over that one. I exhaled audibly, and that was enough conformation for her.

"What, for your birthday?"

 _She's going to hate this_ … "No… he just kind of showed up with it one day."

"He gave you a _fifteen thousand dollar_ purse just for the hell of it?"

"I know that _now_. If I had known it at the time, there would have been no way that I could have accepted a bag that cost more than a down payment on a car."

"A _Birkin Bag!_ _God_ , being with someone who has money is totally wasted on you… And his parent's honestly think you're a gold-digger?"

"Hey, don't ask me…"

She was thankfully coming down from her momentary tirade, "It doesn't matter, I'm sorry I got distracted by the Birkin Bag; I should have followed up your ' _don't need nice things'_ speech with something about _needing_ not being the point. Don't you _want_ to be with him?"

I found myself a little surprised that I didn't even need to think about it. _Of course I want to be with him_. "Well, yea, but…"

"Then I really don't see the problem."

Once again I found myself in awe of her unexpectedly presented wisdom… and again she quickly followed it up with something that was classic Leslie.

"You really own a _Birkin Bag_ and you don't carry it?"

"Logan bought me the bag. I couldn't carry it after I _turned down his marriage proposal_ … It's currently in the same place it's been for the last four years, safely stored in the box it came in on the shelf of my closet in Stars Hollow."

"Money really _is_ wasted on you… which is all the more reason to come shopping and spend money we don't have now."

"Will you forget about the Birkin Bag?"

"I'll stop talking about it out loud…"

" _Fine_ , I will come; but I don't want to get any crap for working tomorrow."

"Deal." _Apparently it was a day of compromises_.

She dragged me out shopping, which I had to admit was a fun afternoon. We had barely spent any time just the two of us outside of work since Logan reappeared in my life. We had dinner at the diner down the block, which was a sad substitute for Luke's, before I headed back to my apartment determined to pick at least one major story to work on.

As promised, Logan called me later that night.

"How goes the story search?"

"It's going… I've been slowly whittling down the options. How was your meeting?"

"After a couple minor crises, things should go smoothly. I had to talk them down from a last minute panic about whether it was a mistake not to include a regular column dedicated entirely to reality TV stars, but in the end we successfully convinced them that their target market did not spend their days worshiping at the Kardashian altar."

"Nicely done… you also successfully made Leslie's day."

"The party invitation?"

"Well that… and the fact that she found out you bought me a Birkin Bag."

He laughed, "Ah, yes… well, it _is_ what got you to fall in love with me the first time."

" _It did not_!"

"Hey, I'm not complaining..."

" _Logan_!"

"Relax, Ace. I'm just giving you a hard time. _Believe me_ ; I know that _stuff_ is not what's important to you. There were a _few_ occasions when grand gestures did absolutely _nothing_ to help my case."

"Well, you know what they say, _Can't Buy Me Love_ …"

"Are we referencing Paul McCartney or Patrick Dempsey."

"Either one… So everything worked out today, which means tomorrow should be a success, right?"

"That's what we're hoping. It's our last major launch before I go finalize stuff at the California offices and the merger is announced."

I was suddenly very disappointed. I had almost forgotten that he was leaving… "When do you leave?"

"Monday…" _A less than enthusiastic response_. "I'll pretty much be getting on a plane as soon as I'm done with Mitchum… which is why I am especially glad you finally agreed to come to the party tomorrow night..."

I smiled knowing that he wanted to see me before he leaves, "Well, I'm glad I could be of service."

"Besides…" _Uh oh_. I know that tone. It usually means… "I've decided that this whole not knowing each other thing could be kind of fun."

 _Yep… up to no good_. " _Fun_?"

He didn't respond right away… I knew he was smirking on the other end of the line. He loved messing with me. "Mhm… A challenge even."

" _A challenge?_ " I sounded like a parrot, but I was genuinely curious.

"Well, for _you_ maybe…"

"Oh, a challenge for _me_ … How do you figure that one?"

"Well, let's be honest, Ace… You can only fend off my charm for so long…"

 _Oh Lord_. I'm lucky my eyes didn't get stuck in the back of my head I rolled them so hard. " _Logan_."

"You won't be able to go a whole night without me."

" _Stop_."

"Just admit it… I'm irresistible to you."

"I'm hanging up."

"Come on… What is it that you just can't resist? My eyes? My hair? Maybe it's the ass?"

"Yes, the ass... as in you're a major pain in." I shook my head. _He is too much sometimes_.

"No, I know… It's the smile, right? _Definitely_ the smile."

"Goodnight, Logan."

"Night, Ace. I love you."

Involuntarily, I smiled. That's what it was… _He loves me_. That's what makes him most irresistible… but there's no way in hell I'm telling him that.

"I love you too."

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - So, a pretty fluffy chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it none the less. Lots of Rogan for all of the fellow fans... And if you noticed, a couple of minor changes from the original, particularly the conditions by which Rory agrees to attend the work function. Take this as a head's up of more changes to come... nothing that will affect the outcome of the story, but some opportunities to stir up more fun/drama/excitement... and I promise that you will love where this is all leading.

Thank you to all of you who have continued to show support... Hooray for over 100 follows! As always, keep the love coming. Hearing from you keeps me motivated to write! xxoo


	23. Chapter 23: Two Can Play That Game

A/N- Heads up to all my loyal readers, I apologize for the minor delay, but get excited, because this is essentially a new chapter! I kept a lot from the old chapter, but added a lot to the party and post party scene, and (maybe another reason to get excited) it gets a little more... _spicy_ than we've gotten in the past. Fair warning, the following is T bordering on M, but it's not too smutty. Read on...

* * *

After perusing a _certain_ newly-launched online publication over my Sunday morning coffee, I finally decided that the place to start this quest for The Times was to follow up on Obama's progress regarding his original campaign promises. I _had_ followed his first campaign after all, and his effectiveness in office over the last three years would probably be the biggest factor in the next election. That decision pretty much eschewed all of the other leads suggested by my colleagues, effectively solving my moral dilemma, though I did flag a couple to use at The Post.

I was going through the mountain of notes and research I had compiled during my time following the incumbent president, when I got a text from Leslie, _"Need shoes, I'm coming over."_

I looked at the time and realized that I had already burned through most of the day. _I guess I should get ready for this shindig_. I jumped in a quick shower, and pulled out the shoes I knew _I_ wanted to wear before Leslie came over to shop in my closet; a pair of black suede pumps. They had a little bit of a platform, and the heel was a little higher than I usually liked, so I didn't wear them very often, but they were perfect with new dress I reluctantly purchased yesterday.

I opened the door when she knocked, but rather than a greeting as she entered I heard, " _Damn_."

"What?"

She gestured to the pair of shoes I had placed on top of the dresser, marking them as claimed. "Those are the ones I wanted…"

"We were shopping _all_ afternoon yesterday… You could have bought some new shoes."

"I can't afford new shoes."

I scoffed at her statement. "You can't afford the dress either, but that didn't stop you…" I referred to the garment bag she had draped over a chair on her way in.

"Yea, well… you have all the good shoes, anyway. I never like mine as much as yours." _A byproduct of being a decedent the East Coast equivalent of Imelda Marco... shoe shopping_ ; though my collection was _nothing_ compared to either my grandmother or mother… I was more about quality than quantity. "Besides, despite all your hemming and hawing yesterday, you bought a dress too, and a pretty killer one at that, so _… You're welcome_."

She was really the only reason I had even tried it on in the first place _… though it was a pretty killer dress._ We were combing through the racks at one of our favorite stores when I came upon it… It was a sleeveless, fitted dress in black lace, layered over a sweetheart neckline that dipped into a v in the back where it met the zipper. I had really had no intention of buying anything yesterday; however Leslie all but pushed me into a fitting room with it. I came out so she could help me zip it, and when we looked in the three way mirror, there was no question. It fit me like a glove. The illusion neckline laid exactly right, the hem of the inner dress hit just at my knees, while the lace continued for another inch or so.

As I considered Logan's cocky remarks from our conversation last night, I became oh so grateful that I had splurged a little on the dress… _Two can play that game_.

"Here." I pulled another pair out from under my bed… Not as high, but I knew Leslie still liked them. "I need all the help I can get tonight."

She took the shoes, but now she was hooked. "What does _that_ mean?"

I had told her during our shopping adventure about the deal I made with Logan, that I would go, as long as it wasn't as his date. Now I filled her in on his new spin on things, trying to keep the eye rolling to a minimum.

"So you're just going to be toying with each other?"

I grimaced. It sounded so crass to put it like that. " _Kinda_ …"

She nodded approvingly, "Kinky."

" _Les_ …"

"Hey, I for one am _liking_ this new side of you that he seems to be bringing out, even if it is only bits at a time. So… What else do you have planned?"

I laughed. "Nothing."

" _Nothing_? But…"

"I didn't even plan the outfit. Besides, he's going to be working all night. It's just a happy coincidence that the dress might mess with him a little bit."

"Correction; _you_ _in the dress_ is going to mess with him… Come on." She dragged me into the bathroom.

By the time she was finished poking and prodding me I was totally over it, but when she shoved me, now dressed and done up, in front of the full length mirror I came to appreciate what she had been up to for the last half hour. She had managed to fix my hair into long loose waves and had done a subtle smoky effect with my eye shadow. _Yep; this would get him_.

"You're like the fairy godmother I never knew I wanted."

"You can thank me later…" She straightened the seam on her own dress. "So, what's the plan?"

Logan had sent me a text earlier that he was sending a car to pick us up. "The car will be here at 7…"

"Well, we better get a move on, then."

I turned and looked at the clock; 7:05. _Of course_. We grabbed our coats and rushed down to find the car waiting at the curb. After a quick trip across the bridge, the car pulled up to the venue, a loft space in Williamsburg… _very hip_.

We got out of the car to find Finn leaning against the front of the building looking at his phone, no jacket, no tie… _no surprise._

He glanced up at the sound of our heels headed toward him, " _OhthankGod_." His dramatic flourish as he stood up straight was unquestioningly _Finn_. "It's about time you got here. I was dying in there."

"Finn, we're only like five minutes late."

" _Really_? Felt like longer. You know…" He turned to face me, "I've got an issue with that boyfriend of yours… He invites me to a party tonight. _Excellent_. Does he tell me that it's a work thing? _No_. I walk in there and it's all suits and bloody shop talk…" He finally calmed down enough to notice that we were dressed for the occasion. "But you knew that, didn't you?" We nodded. He shook his head, "Well, fine; party's a party after all… You ladies look stunning this evening, by the way."

He kissed us each on the cheek as we moved toward the door, "Thank you, but… he's not my boyfriend tonight."

Finn raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but Leslie intervened, " _Long_ story; let's go…"

We entered the elevator that was to take us up to the party Leslie filled Finn in on the deal tonight.

" _Kinky_."

 _Maybe those two are meant for each other._ I shook my head as the doors slid open and the scene unfolded before us. It took me a second to adjust… I'd been to a handful of industry parties over the last few years; I'd been sent to cover a couple of them, but Leslie was always quick to nab us passes when extra invites were floating around the office; in true Logan form, this was much better than any that I could recall.

The room was lit from the floor, with large flood lights splashing beams of light up the walls, there was music, and a bar, and plenty of people milling about. It was already a bigger crowd than he had suggested it would be, and there were several people I recognized to be reporters and photographers in the gathering, including one of our reporters from The Post. It's their first New York launch. _Of course there would be coverage_.

"Well, my dears… What say you to some libations?"

"Yes, please!" Leslie shed her coat and handed it to the check girl near the door, intent on following Finn to the bar. I nodded, but wasn't in quite a rush to follow. I scanned the room for Logan, but no sign of him yet. Figuring I would run into him eventually, I followed suit and handed the girl my coat.

I turned back toward the crowd, ready to forge a path in the direction that my cohorts had headed when I locked eyes with him from across the room. Though I couldn't hear him, I could tell that he was in the middle of a conversation with other businessmen, and that he had stopped whatever he was saying when he saw me. I did my best to conceal the blush that I felt begin to rise in my cheeks. In an effort to appear as collected and confident as I was dressed to be, I cocked my head slightly to the side and raised an eyebrow, as if asking him what the big deal was. An amused smile spread across his face, an understanding that I wasn't taking his swaggering attitude without a fight, as he regained his composure and resumed his conversation.

I smiled to myself as I continued through the room and met up with Leslie and Finn. Les handed me one of the martini's she had in her hands and I leaned in to whisper in her ear as I took it, "Mission accomplished." She gave a laugh and tapped her glass against mine, marking an imaginary point on tonight's score sheet in my column.

To my surprise, as the evening continued I found that I was feeling more and more like a third wheel among my enamored companions. It was also worth noting that in the time I had known Finn, this was likely a record for longest he had gone during a party without hitting on any of the female guests, except Leslie, of course.

Finn, _being Finn_ , did his usual shock and awe routine among guests who struck up conversations with us, to mixed reactions mostly, but Les and I were amused. At one point he became engaged in a half serious discussion on the importance of the penny in American commerce, the serious half unsurprisingly belonging to the other party. It was at that point that I excused myself to get a couple of fresh drinks for me and Leslie. As I approached, I felt a flutter of excitement when I saw a familiar head of blonde hair standing at the bar.

He was distracted when I walked up and placed the two empty glasses down, but when I asked the bartender for two martinis he turned, having immediately recognized my voice.

"Well, fancy meeting you here."

I smiled at his ease. _Playing cool and collected; alright, so will I._ I nodded, "The party seems to be going well; good turnout…"

He nodded. The bartender put the drinks Logan had been waiting for down in front of him, but he didn't even glance at them. Instead he pretended to reach across the bar for something, leaning close enough to me that I could smell his cologne. _God he smells good_. As he reached, he whispered in my ear, "You look _fantastic_."

His voice, his breath on my neck, gave me goose bumps and took my breath away a little. He snuck in a wink as he picked up the drinks and stepped away from the bar, back to another important conversation. _Okay_ … point for Logan.

With two new martinis in hand I rejoined Leslie and Finn in whatever conversation they were now participating. I was a little too distracted at the moment…

I couldn't help but notice Logan as slowly making his way through the room, each conversation he had moved him closer to where we hovering _._ We traded a few smiles and glances as he made the rounds, and I had a sneaking suspicion that every time he looked at me he was mentally undoing the zipper on the back of my dress, a little lower each time. The thought made me a little weak at the knees. _I'm not sure who that is a point for_.

Before too long Leslie, Finn and I found ourselves in the company of a tallish man, who had the misfortune of asking us if we were in line for the bar or merely congregated around it. I could see the wheels turning in Finns head, probably concocting some retort to equate the line for the bar to the unfortunate bald strip that ran down the top of the his head.

Seemly from nowhere, Logan appeared to my left, interceding at precisely the right moment, much to the disappointment of his dear friend.

"Mike!" He shook the tallish man's hand. "How's it going? Have you all met?"

When he shook his head Logan took the opportunity to introduce us, and we learned that Mike was apparently was a number cruncher for one of the venture capital firms that the company worked with. _Probably a good thing Finn didn't get to make his joke._

"Leslie and Rory are reporters at The Post. And…" He looked at Finn, thought better of trying to come up with something respectable to say and shook his head, instead turning to Mike and empty glass in his hand. "So, can we get you a refill?"

He nodded, so Logan turned toward the bartender and gestured for a round of drinks for our group. We made polite conversation for a few minutes after one of the wait staff brought our drinks around. Mike asked about the paper and how we knew Logan.

"Old friends." Logan responded with a hint of mischievousness in his eyes. Leslie and Finn both stifled laughter.

Before long a few others had joined our gathering, all looking to get some time with Logan. Unsurprisingly, quite a few of them were female, and seemed more interested in _him_ than the paper. Leslie made _What are you going to do about it?_ eyes at me from across our little circle. _I was going to watch and see how this played out._

I tried very hard to keep a straight face as Logan oh-so-skillfully continued to steer the conversation back towards the paper, or work in general, despite the girls' best efforts. On a couple of occasions photographers stopped to ask for a picture of the group enjoying the party. Eventually, when Mike and another gentleman had taken over the conversation, I heard Logan softly cleared his throat.

"Mike, it's been good catching up; good to see you Peter, but I promised that I would introduce Rory to…" I felt his hand on the small of my back. He quickly removed it when he caught the look on my face, and a hint of a guilty smile played across his lips as he finished his sentence, "a couple of people, so I'll see you later."

He shook the men's' hands again as Leslie gave me a suggestive look. I subtly rolled my eyes at her, but obliged as Logan directed me away from the group.

"So… who is it that you promised to introduce me to?" As I spoke I had to look over my shoulder a little, as he followed slightly behind me.

"Oh, important people; very important… Okay, come here..."

Suddenly I felt him grab my hand and rapidly change our direction, a feat not so easily accomplished in heels. He had pulled me around a corner into a service hallway, out of view of the other guests. My back was against the wall and he was standing only inches from me. I had a flashback to the Pulp Fiction party we had gone to, also not as each other's dates, as he leaned in and tried to kiss me.

I deftly maneuvered a few inches to the side and a look of utter disappointment appeared on Logan's face.

"Hey, you know I'm not one to kiss someone I barely know."

I flashed him a smile and he dropped his head. _He hadn't counted on losing this game._

Still barely any space between us he whispered in my ear, "You make that dress look _really_ good."

Proud of the straight face I was able to keep despite the flutter in the pit of my stomach, I replied formally, "Thank you. You look nice too. My compliments to your tailor…" I bit back a smile. It was almost too easy to toy with him at this point. " _Hans Christian Anderson_?"

He was close enough to me that I could feel the smile that formed on his lips against my cheek. "If Hans Christian Anderson were my tailor, that dress would be the only thing standing in my way of..."

 _" _Logan_ …" Okay, maybe he's not the only one susceptible at the moment_. I braced myself against the wall a little as I warned him.

" _Ace_ …" He mimicked me, then put on hand against the wall and leaned in even closer, planting a soft kiss behind my ear. Involuntarily my eyes rolled back a little. _No fair_. "Let's get out of here."

He kissed my neck again, his other hand finding its way around my waist. _Focus_. "Don't you have guests to get back to?"

" _Technically_ they're guests of the paper…"

I couldn't help but smile at that one, _always trying to play the semantics in his favor_ … _Not this time_. "But you seem to have quite a few… _fans_ in the room."

He smirked a little as I felt his fingers run over the lace on my hip, "Should we invite them?"

" _Logan_!"

He laughed, enjoying my momentary discomfort, knowing full well that was not what I meant. "I'm _kidding_ , Ace… but not about taking you home."

He tried again to kiss me, but once more I resisted. I did my best to shake myself out of our cloud of lust and stood up a little straighter. "Oh no, mister…"

"But…"

I shoot my head. " _You_ started this."

" _No_ …"

"Oh _yes you did_. We had a simple arrangement, and you are the one who couldn't leave well enough alone." I straightened the skirt of my dress. "You made your bed, now you have to lay in it."

I knew instantly that that was a dangerous analogy to have used, so I started to walk away before he could make a play off of it. _No luck._ He got in one more remark, whispered in my ear as he stood behind me, facing the party we were about to rejoin, "I will tonight. You'll be in it, and that dress will be on the floor."

I shudder ran down my back. He's good. _Very good_.

"Come on…"He led me through the crowd, knowingly keeping an appropriate distance, and ended up making good on his promise to introduce me to a couple of interesting people, including one of the editors for The Wall Street Journal. I was thoroughly entertained by all of the _bloody shop_ talk that Logan was partaking in. I loved seeing him so driven.

Eventually we made our way back toward Leslie and Finn who had managed since we left them to separate themselves from the all of the small groups that had formed, and were standing near one of the windows, talking of all things. Rather than interrupt them, we observed for a moment.

"Who'd have thought that the hundreds of women who rebuffed his advances over the years might have actually been missing out on something…"

I laughed a little. " _I know_ … Although Leslie has done her fair share of rebuffing, so maybe it's just fate."

"So that makes us a pair of some sort of mythical matchmakers?"

"Merely the proxies of destiny."

I always appreciated when he played along with my musings… "Alright Cupid, what do you say we get out of here?"

"Really?" I wasn't sure if he was serious or if it was just another attempt to get me to bed.

"Yea, really." He checked his watch. "I've done my duty here… What do you say? We can leave in two cars if it will make you feel better…"

That grin of his was dangerous. "What about those two?"

We glanced back at our besotted friends, who were still enthralled with each other's company.

He shrugged, "They're busy."

I nodded, ready to be free of the charade… and the dress.

"Good. Grab your coat, I'll meet you downstairs." He winked as he walked away. As petty and childish as it was, I had to admit that it felt pretty good to be the one going home with him, knowing that there were at least a dozen other women in the room who would have happily thrown themselves at him.

I text Leslie from the elevator, " _We're leaving. You guys are on your own."_

" _Good." Well at least she didn't feel abandoned._

Having been on the very next elevator, Logan met me before I had even exited the lobby. "Ready?"

I nodded and we walked through the doors toward a line of cars at the curb. I laughed to myself a little as we walked, noticing that Logan began at a respectable distance, in reverence of our arrangement, but slowly he got closer.

Our fingers grazed, then intertwined, I glanced up at him for half a second, and before I knew it I was pressed up against the side of the car, his lips pressed against mine, my breath completely taken away. I collapsed into him, let him keep kissing me, let his hands run up my back. He smiled as he pulled away.

"Satisfied?" I asked, now that he had gotten the kiss he was so desperately after upstairs.

Logan slowly shook his head, "Not remotely."

He pulled open the car door and we slid in. He gave the driver his address, rolled up the partition that separated him from us, and got back to kissing me… _Really kissing me_. His hands ran through my hair, up my body under my coat; I felt him play with the zipper on the back of my dress, itching to pull it down.

By the time we pulled up in front of his building we were out of breath, but so involved in each other that we hadn't even noticed we arrived. The driver, thankfully respectful of our privacy, wrapped on the divider to bring us to attention. A giggle escaped my mouth as I realized how this situation must have looked. Two grown adults making out in that back of a car like teenagers. _All Logan's fault_.

We hurried through the lobby, briefly acknowledging Tommy at his post, then the kissing recommenced in the elevator, down the hall, and into the apartment. My coat was in a pile near the door. Our shoes kicked off somewhere in the dining room. I undid the buttons of his shirt as he kissed me on the stairs.

He leaned me up against the doorway of the bedroom. "You have been driving me crazy all night."

Logan kissed his way down my neck and I smiled, "That was kind of the point."

He smiled as kissed his way down to my shoulder, turning me around and moving my hair to one side as he moved his lips to my spine. His fingers found the zipper of my dress and slowly undid it, while soft kisses followed where his hands had been. He pushed the dress off of my shoulders so it fell to the floor. _Talk about driving me crazy._

Once more he turned me around, the combination of his deep kisses and the cool door frame sending chills up my bare back. My arms wound their way around his neck, while his hands slid down my hips. I let out small squeal when I felt hands grasp my thighs and he picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to the bed and to bliss.

Later that night while we were lying in his bed Logan made a seemingly absent-minded suggestion, "You should stay here…"

My eyes were closed but I felt him pull me closer to him. "It's late, and in the morning you are leaving for a week; I'm not going anywhere."

"I mean while I'm in California…"

I opened my eyes, but didn't lift my head, "Why?"

He kissed the top of my head where it rested on his bare chest. "Because I like the idea of you staying _here_ while I'm gone a lot better than at _your_ place."

I rolled my eyes, " _Thousands_ of people in New York live in apartments that are just as bad, or _worse_ than mine."

"But I don't want to come _home_ to any of those people."

I had to give him credit. _He's good._ I finally sat up to look at him. "What are you getting at, Huntzberger?"

"When I get back, I want to come home to _you_."

 _Imagine that_ ; Leslie and I had just had this conversation yesterday. "Is that so?"

"Come on, Ace, are you really going to make me beg here?" He made the same face had that day when he called me a _pain in the ass_.

I pretended to think about it for a second, just to mess with him. I thought about the conversation I had had with Leslie only yesterday, and admitting that it really was what I wanted. Finally I smiled and kissed him, "I guess begging would be a _little_ excessive."

He kissed me back and then pulled away, "You know I'm talking about _more_ than just next week, right?"

I had to laugh at his need for clarification, but nodded to reassure him.

"I mean if it had come down to it, I would have moved into that hovel you seem to love so much if you really wanted to stay there that bad…"

" _Hovel_?"

"…I would fear for my life, but if it would make you happy…"

" _Logan…"_ _He's just being ridiculous now._

"…because that's really all I want. Well, that and good insurance, given the neighborhood…"

" _Stop_! You've won. _You've got me.._. I'm staying."

"Promise?"

I kissed him again to seal the deal.

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Well... What do you think? I hope you enjoyed it because it was certainly fun to write! Let me know! More to come soon, I promise! xxoo


	24. Chapter 24: Not be Huntzbergered Again

I woke up Monday morning before the alarm sounded, but on this particular day I didn't mind. I lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling as the first rays of sunlight peaked through the windows of Logan's room… _my room_ _too_. Even though we had lived together before, this still felt like a huge step.

The first time we had moved in together, it had more or less been a matter of sheer circumstance. Paris had kicked me out and I had nowhere else to go. This time is different… I'm not homeless; Logan has obviously put a lot of thought into it… _I've put a lot of thought into it._ The only real factor here is that we _want_ to move in together. This time it's a real, sincere commitment. This definitely felt right, but it was _definitely a big step_.

I had to get to work, so I slipped out of bed to take a quick shower. I heard the alarm going off in the bedroom as I finished brushing my teeth.

"Waking up alone had me worried for a second, Ace. Thought maybe you changed your mind already…" I looked up to see Logan leaning against the doorway; grey sweatpants, no shirt, messy hair, that smirk… _If I didn't have to be at work…_ I had a momentary flashback to last night, but did my best to shake it out of my mind.

"Nope… You're stuck with me now."

His smile widened and put his hands on my hips as he kissed me. This was not helping my resolve to finish getting ready for work, but I had a feeling that was his intention. "Good." He kissed me again. _That was definitely his intention._

" _Logan_ …"

"Yes?" He continued to kiss me.

"I have to go to work…"

He shook his head and planted another kiss.

" _Yes I do_. And _you_ have a meeting..." He moved his kisses to my neck.

"I really think that this is a better use of our morning." I was inclined to agree with him, but the real world was waiting.

"…and then you have a flight to catch."

The kissing stopped and he sighed. Resigned to his responsibility he leaned against the counter.

"When do you get back?"

"Hopefully Sunday."

The prospect of missing him while he's gone for a week seemed strange, considering we had been very much apart for so long, but I knew I would.

"Hopefully?"

I finished getting dressed as he explained how it really depended on how things went. He had meetings with a couple of their West Coast clients while he was out there, in addition to the big picture stuff he was taking care of.

We made our way downstairs, and I poured coffee.

"And this meeting with your dad?"

He looked less than pleased at the thought of it, "Once I get back here, there will only be a couple of things to take care of before we announce the merger, so we're going over some details to make sure contracts are ready to be signed when I get back."

I thought back to the fight he and Mitchum had when he showed up that morning; about how Logan threatened to pull out of the deal. "You _are_ still signing contracts, right?"

He ran his hand through his disheveled hair and sighed, "Yes. But I'm sure we'll have at least one or two things to discuss before we meet with the lawyers next week."

I eyed him. Knowing exactly what I meant, he held up his hands in defense, "No rash decisions."

"So, meet with Mitchum, and then on a plane?"

He nodded with a disappointed look on his face.

"On the bright side, I'll be here when you get back…"

He pulled me in for another kiss, one last attempt to persuade me into wasting the morning.

" _Logan_ …"

He rolled his eyes dramatically, " _Fine_ , go to work, plot your takeover of The Times…"

"I love you."

"I love you too." He pulled me in for one last kiss, the best one yet, and that was saying something for this morning.

"That was a hell of a kiss…"

He grinned, "It's got to last a week… I want you to miss me."

"Well, I think you can rest assured there."

I grabbed my bag and started to leave, but he grabbed my hand, "Ace…" He picked something up from the table by the door and put it in my hand. A key. _Of course_ … _I live here now_. It was on a key ring and as I turned it over in my hand I saw that the keychain attached was a small rocket.

He might have scaled down the grandeur of his gestures, but he was still Logan. I didn't have to say anything; I just looked at him and that sly smile of his and he winked.

"Call me when you land?"

He nodded and kissed my forehead before I left.

On my way to work I sent a text to my mom, " _Call me when you have a chance_."

I thought just of telling her now, but I could only imagine the grief I would get for a _by the way I'm moving in with Logan again_ text message. This should be for a real conversation, besides I had to tell her about this deal Dominic and I had worked out.

" _After Town Meeting tonight. Got something juicy?"_

" _Very."_

I already knew Leslie would be thrilled, so when I ended up behind her in line at the coffee cart I figured I'd dive right in.

"Have any boxes I can borrow?"

She hadn't even turned around yet, "Are you _serious_?"

I held up my key as she turned. Her eyes got wide and she let out a shriek that would rival my mom at a Bangles concert.

"Is that _really_ necessary?" The guy in line ahead of her apparently didn't think so, given his unpleasant glare in our direction. "We _just_ had this conversation the other day, and now you're surprised?"

"About him _asking_? No. But about you agreeing to? A little."

"I repeat, we _just_ had this conversation…"

"I know but… _Two caramel macchiatos please_ …" We had gotten to the front of the line, but she didn't bother to focus on one conversation. Always a multitasker, she just handed the man money and stepped to the side to wait for our drinks before continuing. "…but this is _big_."

I smiled and took a deep breath, thinking about the little talk I had with myself that morning. " _I know."_

"So what did he say? Did he buy you another purse?"

" _No_ … He just…" I couldn't help but smile as I said it, "He told me that he wants to come home to me." She looked at me in incredulity as she reached for our coffees, clearly not satisfied with that story so I elaborated as she handed one to me, "He's going to be in California all week for work, and he said that when he gets back he wants to be coming _home_ to _me_."

" _Ugh_. You two are _nauseating_." Leslie had a habit of feigning disgust to cover her inner romantic.

"Oh excuse _me_ , but you aren't exactly Girls Gone Wild these days either…"

"Well…" She took a sip of her coffee to stall for an excuse, "I'm waiting for Joe Francis to call me back."

"Don't try that… I saw you and Finn last night, acting all relationship-y."

"We're having _fun_."

"You're _dating_."

"We're just…"

"Give it up Les, you're smitten and you know it…"

"Whatever… besides, Finn and I were _so_ not the story last night." She was implying that Logan and I had been, but she was kidding… I think."

" _What_? We were totally professional."

"Except for when you disappeared to have dirty sex in the coat closet."

" _Leslie_!"

"We saw the two of you, undressing each other with your eyes all night. We told you it was kinky little game you were playing."

"We did _not_ have sex in the coat closet."

"Coat closet, bathroom… What's the difference?"

" _Stop_!" She enjoyed giving me a hard time almost as much as Logan did, maybe more sometimes. "We are _adults_."

"So you made out all the way home in the car and then ripped each other's clothes off as soon as you walked in the door?"

I thought about trying to make it sound more romantic than that, but, "Yea, pretty much." It wasn't romantic. _It was hot._

"'Atta girl!" Les smiled at me, clearly glad that I was happy. I was glad too. We stepped onto the elevator. "So, do you need help moving?"

"Definitely"

"Tonight?"

"I've got a phone date with my mom…"

"Tomorrow it is then. And with him out of town I'll be able to do some serious snooping in that penthouse."

I shook my head at her as we got off at our floor, "You will not."

"Come on… I've probably never even _seen_ an apartment that nice before, let alone had a chance to go through it ." _That's probably true_. "You've got to give me something…"

"I'll give you the tour, but…"

"Yea, yea, mind my own business…" She waved me off as she departed for her desk.

I sat down and stared at my inbox for a minute. I needed to come down out of the clouds for a little while and figure out my plan of action. I had finally figured out what I wanted to start working on for Dominic, but my priority right now had to be finishing my space shuttle series. I had the bones of the last two pieces laid out and if I could put them both together this week that would free up my time for my other work…

I still hadn't decided whether or not I should tell Gerry about my plan to continue pushing pieces to The Times, but he was in a meeting this morning anyway, so at the moment it didn't matter. I took a long sip of coffee and dove in.

Late in the morning I got a text from Logan, _"About to take off. Love you."_

I smiled at my phone, appreciating how far we had come from the couple we used to be. Back then it wouldn't have been unlikely for him to already be in another country before I heard from him. _"Love you too."_

I took the welcome interruption as a chance to re-up my caffeine supply. I headed into the break room, not at all that surprised to find Leslie there as well, though she was wrapped up in reading a text at the table. _Wonder who that could be from?_

"Having _fun_?" I asked as I filled the Yale mug that I kept at my desk.

She smiled without looking up, " _Maybe_ …"

I sat down next to her, about to ask the dangerous question of how the rest of her night went, "So what…"

We were interrupted two girls coming in mid conversation; I vaguely recognized the one speaking… _a photo editor, maybe?_ At first I thought they were just unnoticing of our presence, but it became apparent from the way that she kept glancing our way that this was a conversation she wanted to be overheard.

" _Totally_ , so the guest list was fine, but the real story last night was…" _Oh, that's why she looks so familiar._ She was at the party last night. Leslie and I glanced at each other. "He was at the party, no date; we're talking one of New York's latest most eligible bachelors…" She continued on about how she had gotten a few photos, but she was really after a chance to chat with him alone, and how Sherry should have seen him in that suit… Leslie looked at me. We both knew they were talking about Logan. I bit back a smile. Honestly I was impressed with how much fervor she told her tale, tall as it may be.

"So, finally I get him to myself for a minute and…"

"I heard he's seeing somebody."

I looked at Leslie, completely appalled. _Shut up_.

" _Excuse me?"_ The photographer turned around to face her.

"Yea, I heard he's seeing somebody _and_ it's pretty serious."

The photographer was suddenly rather irritated; apparently she wanted everyone to hear about her supposed interaction with _the_ Logan Huntzberger. "And how would _you_ know?"

Les flashed me a look, wondering if I was planning on jumping in here anytime soon. _I was not_. I subtly shook my head. It's none of _my_ business if this girl wants to make a fool of herself. I know _exactly_ what Logan was doing last night.

"I was there last night." _Oh Lord. Here we go._

" _Why_?"

"I was invited." Her tone suggested that that fact should have been common knowledge, as if Leslie is invited to _all_ of these things. "And I have it on pretty good authority that he left with someone else last night, and you are in fact talking out of your ass."

 _Burn_. I choked back a laugh as the two girls left in a silent huff, clearly disappointed that we weren't impressed by the story.

"You were just going to sit there and let her talk about scamming on your boyfriend."

I shrugged. "It's not true…"

"I know that, but anybody that wasn't at the party doesn't."

"It will come out eventually…" It was a day I was dreading, but for now I was surprisingly okay with it. As long as it lets us fly under the radar for a little while longer, slutty girls can say what they want. I felt the same sense of satisfaction I had last night at the party, about being the one he wanted to take home. I'm the one he wants to come home to. A smile crept across my face.

I was feeling pretty good about myself by the time I was back at my desk, confident even. I was once again focused on my work, and making pretty good progress. All of a sudden my work line rang; it was Sarah at the reception desk, "Rory, someone is here to see you." I looked back; Leslie is at her desk, Logan's on a plane, I'm not expecting anyone… _Who would be here to see me?_

I was about to ask her but I heard a man's voice in the background before she hung up, "Thanks I can find my way."

My stomach turned. _Mitchum_. _What the hell is he doing here?_ I thought about what I had mentioned to Leslie only a little while ago, _it will come out eventually_ … I had a bad feeling that _eventually_ might have come much sooner than I wanted.

I had about thirty seconds to prepare myself before I heard his voice as he came around the corner. I stood up, not about to give him the advantage of standing over me at my desk. I even went as far as to meet him in the aisle of the newsroom. When I saw him, I felt that resentment I had had in Logan's kitchen kicking in.

I looked him in the eye, "Can I _help_ you?" _Good start… Control the conversation._

Gerry appeared to my right. _Of course_. He was supposed to be in a meeting, but he must have seen Mitchum walk past his office, and he had _definitely_ heard my less than friendly greeting. He eyed me as he put his hand out to Mitchum, "Mr. Huntzberger…"

"Gerry…" _Of course he knows Gerry._

"Gilmore, this is Mitchu…"

"I know."

They were both surprised by my curt interjection, but I was becoming increasingly irritated by the fact that Mitchum thought he had the right to show up here. _He does not own this paper_. Gerry looked slightly embarrassed, but Mitchum actually appeared to be a little amused.

"Don't worry, Gerry. Rory and I go way back... Didn't she tell you?"

He kept his eyes on me while he spoke; this was clearly a test to see how honest I was being about keeping the Huntzberger name out of my career.

"It never came up."

" _Really_? Not even on your resume?"

"I had other references… And let's be honest Mitchum, the circumstances of that internship were let's say, _convoluted_ at best." I guess the last part was a little gratuitous, but did he _honestly_ think I would use him as a reference?

"Even still, most of my interns make it a point to show potential employers my name."

"I'm not most of your interns."

He raised an eyebrow with a hint of what might be considered a smile, "No, I suppose you're not."

There was a pause and I got a glimpse of Gerry out of the corner of my eye. _Poor Gerry_ … he was very clearly confused by the situation. Of course he was… why would a young reporter fail to use the biggest name in the industry as a reference? And what the hell was Mitchum Huntzberger doing unannounced in his newsroom?

"So… Mitchum, what brings you to The Post today?"

"As a matter of fact, it's Rory..." He eyed my desk, with the framed copy of my article from The New York Times clearly displayed and then turned to Gerry, "…is there a place she and I could talk? We have a few things to _discuss_."

"Uh…" I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see Gerry be intimidated by Mitchum. "Yea… the conference room is free until…"

"Don't worry. This won't take long." I wanted to know what this was about, but I wasn't about to let Mitchum take up any more of my time than he already was.

I led Mitchum to the conference room, trying to mentally prepare myself as I did so. _What the hell is he doing here?_ It doesn't matter. _Stay in control_. I stood at the table, making sure he had taken a seat before I sat down myself.

He didn't say anything immediately. _Control_ , I reminded myself. _You start_. "So Mitchum, you said we had some things to _discuss_?"

He nodded. I waited.

He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers together. "I had a meeting with Logan this morning. He and I have some important things coming up."

"I've heard rumors…"

"I imagine that you have. So I also imagine that you can understand just _how_ important these things are."

"I can..." _Let's get to the point, Mitchum_. "What I'm having trouble understanding is why you're here." Even _I_ was impressed with how assertive I sounded.

"I told you, we have…"

"… _Things to discuss_. We established that. But I'm surprised that you came _here_ to do it. What with all of your blustering about not wanting Logan influencing my career, it seems rather paradoxical for _you_ to come to my workplace and advertise our association. Although I guess this was probably some kind of test, right?"

He wasn't going to admit it, but I knew I was right. He narrowed his eyes and avoided the question completely. "I came here to talk about Logan and this merger."

"You want to talk about the merger to _me_? I can't fathom what you think we have to talk about. What could I possibly have to do with your merger?"

"Quite a bit, evidently… After all, he was about to threaten to pull out of it in your defense."

Now the pieces were starting to come together... He thinks I am one of the ducks that needs to be lined up. _This duck isn't going down without a fight._ "Well, making rash judgments seems to be a family trait..."

He knew that I was referring to how he had jumped to conclusions about me, and he finally conceded with a slight nod and an audible exhale, but quickly moved on, "Thankfully he's come to his senses."

"He just needed some perspective."

"And _you_ gave it to him?"

I shook my head. "I just reminded him that he deserves to be recognized for his success, regardless of any satisfaction _you_ may get out of him rejoining your company."

He leaned back in his chair, "I guess it's fair to say that I underestimated you."

I crossed my arms. Not the most aggressive stance to hold across from a sworn enemy, I know, but I had to figure out which direction he was taking this before I could figure out how this was not an actual compliment. "How so?"

"Well for one thing, I had forgotten the amount of influence you can have over my son."

 _Did he think I was mind controlling Logan into disrupting their plans or something?_

"Logan makes his own decisions. He always has."

"And he has _clearly_ made some about you."

Something about the way he said it made it seem like a loaded statement, and as tempted as I was to ask what he meant by it, I was determined to be in control of the conversation.

"Mitchum, is there a _point_ to this, or are we just going to keep rehashing your disdain for our relationship? Because if that's the case, I have an article to get back to."

Once again a slightly impressed look flashed in his eyes, "Another mark on my list of underestimations."

I looked at him questioningly.

"Your work. You've got a decent thing going here, regular bylines in a mostly reputable paper."

He didn't bother to hide the sarcasm that dripped from the phrase _mostly reputable_ , turned only because he didn't own it, I'm sure. "You've checked up on me?"

He nodded and continued, "And that piece in The Times was respectable work."

"I'm surprised you bothered to read it, given your assumption that it got there based on the fact that I was… _how did you put it_? Sleeping with a major influence in the industry?"

He nodded once more, an _almost_ guilty expression on his face. It felt good to make Mitchum Huntzberger eat his own words. "As I said, I underestimated you."

We'd been down this road before, and _I would not be Huntzbergered again_.

"So is this different than the _last_ time you underestimated by abilities as a journalist, when you told me that I ' _didn't have it'_? Because, if I remember correctly, you followed that one up with an offer to work at my choice of any Huntzberger owned paper." _Remember to breathe_. "You know, now that I think about it, it's _astounding_ how often your faith in my ability as a reporter waivers. And remarkably enough, an uptick in that faith _always_ seems to coincide with an opportunity you see to bolster your standing with Logan."

I wasn't finished but I paused for just a second to see if he had anything to add at this point. _He didn't._

"Take _now_ for example, not four days ago you made it pretty clear that in your opinion there was no way that I could have forged a moderately successful career on my own. However, now that you seem to be worried about the supposed influence that I have on your business arrangement I suddenly have a 'good thing going'. _Interesting, no_?"

He just sat there for a second; he was caught and he knew it. "Well, you always have been a smart girl, Rory."

He was not a man who was used to being put in his place, and I could hardly believe that I had been the one to put him there, but I knew I had to take full advantage of it.

"Mitchum, I'm still not exactly sure what your intentions here are, but I want to make something very clear. Logan and I are not the same people we were four years ago. From what I hear, he has done quite the job of evening the playing field between the two of you, and I am not some green college kid looking for your approval, so if this is some kind of attempt to get me to play a part in whatever agenda you think you have for him you're wasting your time."

He took a deep breath before he finally spoke again. "You're right… It's pretty obvious that neither of you are who you were before. And you're right about Logan holding his own power these days. As far as agendas go _believe me_ , he has his own… which brings me back to my intentions here. We seem to have gotten a little side tracked. I came to discuss your role in this merger."

"This merger is between your companies. I don't _have_ a role in this merger."

"Just when I've given you credit for being a smart girl, you say something like that… you can't possibly believe that that's true."

"I told you, Logan makes his own decisions."

"Yes, and he has _decided_ to add stipulations, well more of a subcontract, really, to our negotiations regarding my relationship with you."

"A subcontract based on you and me?" I was in disbelief.

"Yes. It seems that it was only _after_ your reuniting that he made the final decision to accept my proposal for the merger, and as such Logan feels that I _owe_ you..." _I'm going to kill him._ He _promised_ not to do anything rash. "…Of course my initial reaction was to tell him that he was being ridiculous to balance the biggest deal of his life on whether or not I agree to play nice with his girlfriend, but after some consideration, I found that to an extent I had to agree with him."

" _Excuse me?" Mitchum agreed with Logan? About me, of all things._ That can't be it. The other shoe has got to drop…

"Do I think it's realistic for the two of you to believe you can have a successful relationship given the circumstances? _No_. Am I thrilled that Logan will have the distractions that come with a relationship in his life? _No_. Do I think that you are prepared for what it means to be with Logan? _No_ …"

 _That was quick._

"…But I can acknowledge the possibility that he would have continued to turn down my offers without some, to use your term, _perspective_. And if I have to accept that the perspective came from _you_ in order to make this deal work, then I will."

 _That's the final piece of this puzzle_. "So you came here to tell me that you are going to _put up with me_ to keep Logan happy?"

"Well, that's a pretty blunt way of putting it, but essentially… yes. If he's happy, things will continue to go according to plan, for all of us."

 _This is too bizarre_. "What are the stipulations of this subcontract?"

He took a beat before he answered, "The details aren't what matter, but it basically comes down to me respecting you and your relationship together."

"And you're agreeing to it?"

"Like I said, apparently your role in the merger is larger than you realize."

I didn't care about Mitchum, and Logan was crazy for making me any part of this arrangement, but I guess I can't really do anything about it now. "Then…" I took a deep breath. I can't believe I'm doing this. "I suppose we could manage some civility… for Logan's sake."

"Alright then…" He stood up from his chair and I followed suit, "I'll let you get back to that article." And just like that he walked out of the conference room, as if it had been just another business meeting.

I, on the other hand, collapsed back into my chair as soon as he had left. Theoretically, this would be a good thing. It will make Logan's life a lot easier, but this was all very surreal. _I just agreed to practice decorum with Mitchum Huntzberger_ ; a man who works only in his own interest and is otherwise completely unwilling to support the relationship between me and his son.

 _And what the hell is Logan thinking_? He promised not to make any rash decisions, but suddenlyhe has a contract incorporated into their deal that requires his dad to be nice to me? And what kind of terms did he set that Mitchum would actually agree to them? _He is so lucky he's on a plane right now._

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. *

A/N - So there's a little superfluous drama added in here, just for fun, and a chance for dear Leslie to stand up for our girl Rory. She does care, after all...

Keep commenting and giving me your feedback/predictions for what is to come! I love hearing them, and sometimes it helps to inspire me! Follow and favorite, too! xxoo


	25. Chapter 25: Second Coming of Hemmingway

After a minute or two, I had finally steadied myself enough to get back to work; unfortunately the madness wasn't over yet. I was hoping to get passed Gerry's office unnoticed, but there was absolutely no chance of that; he was standing in his doorway waiting for me.

"Come on in, Gilmore."

Reluctantly I took a seat across from him at his desk.

He looked at me enquiringly, "So?"

"So…"

"So you know Mitchum Huntzberger?"

I paused, unable to determine how he felt about the subject, but it didn't really matter. _You can't lie now_. "Yes."

He nodded. _Give me something to go off of, please_. "You worked for him?"

Was this something he inferred from our little altercation in the newsroom, or had he done some quick research? "I did. I was an intern for him in college."

"And you didn't like the nice things he had to say about you in The Wall Street Journal?"

He had definitely done some research. _Damn that interview_. "Gerry…" I started to start defending myself, but he continued.

"You know, I have to say, I'm surprised to agree with him. Most people would have included that on their resume."

"Well, to be fair, I wasn't asked to confirm the statement he made in that interview. Besides, you hired me without it." I flashed a smile, but he gave me a look somewhere along the lines of a glare. _You have to tell him._ "Look, Gerry, in the spirit of full disclosure, I think I need to tell you something before we continue this conversation."

"About?"

"My freelance writing…" He was a little taken aback by the change of subject, but he listened as I continued. "I thought I should let you know that I'm working on pursuing more chances to be published at The Times."

He gave a tight lipped nod. "I get it. Bigger market, bigger draw, but remember what I said about your responsibilities here."

"I know, but I'm going to be focusing on more political pieces, and I don't even know how successful I will be."

He rubbed his hand along his jaw. "Well, I can't stop you, but if this interferes with your work here it could be a problem. I can't let my staff make outside work their priority."

"Of course."

"And as far as your success goes, having _connections_ certainly won't hurt you."

He emphasized connections, obviously alluding to my visitor. "Mitchum is obviously _not_ a connection that I am interested in relying on." He looked at me skeptically. "Would ' _It's complicated'_ be a sufficient response?"

He raised his eyebrows, obviously intrigued. _Why does he care so much that I know Mitchum?_

"He has a history of wavering opinions of me… on professional and personal levels."

" _Personal_?"

 _What is his deal?_ Yes. _Personal_ … like I don't want to talk about it. He kept looking at me, waiting for a response. I really just wanted to get out of his office and back to work. _Screw it._ I had started this conversation in the spirit of full disclosure, and as I admitted to Leslie this morning, it was going to get out eventually. I took a deep breath, "I'm dating his son."

Gerry sat across from me with a blank stare for a minute. It was like he wasn't sure if he had heard me correctly. "His son." He spoke slowly, processing. Four years ago this wouldn't have meant much to anyone, but Logan his made a name for himself now. People know who he is. "You're dating Logan Huntzberger?"

I nodded tentatively, but was surprised when Gerry let out half a laugh.

"You're dating a guy who owns the media rights to at least half a dozen major papers, and is the son of _the_ biggest name in the industry, and you work as a reporter _here_...at The Post?"

 _Here we go_. "Yes."

He shook his head. "You know The Times isn't a Huntzberger paper either." _Is he mocking me?_

"I do know that." _Honestly, that adds to the appeal._ I've now told him _more_ than he needs to know about my life. _Let's get out of here_. "I'm not interested in working at a Huntzberger paper. And with all due respect, I would really appreciate it if this could be the end of this discussion. I'm trying very hard to keep my personal life and professional life separate. The interruption from Mitchum this morning was _unexpected_ to say the least, and it will _not_ happen again." _One way or another, it won't be happening again._

His eyebrows had risen as I made my little declaration, but he nodded, "Alright."

 _Alright?_ I would really like something a little more concrete than that, but the only thing more that I got was a nod. _I guess that will do_.

"Thank you… and I will respect my priorities here. So if there's nothing else…"

He nodded once more and dismissed me. _Oh boy._ I knew it was naïve to ever think that I could have gotten away with never having that conversation, but I was really wishing that I would have been more prepared for it.

As I walked back to my desk my head was swimming. I figured Gerry wouldn't have taken the news that I was pushing more freelance work well, but strangely he seemed more affected by discovering my association with the Huntzbergers. And Mitchum showing up here; I still can't get over that. And _Logan_! _How could he pull me in to their business deal_? He is _so_ lucky he's on a plane right now.

I knew I would talk to Logan when he landed, and I could deal with his ridiculous stunt then. For now, I needed to get away from the drama and focus on something else. _Like work maybe, what a novel concept to actually do my job._

Thankfully Leslie hadn't been at her desk when Mitchum made his appearance; otherwise I'm sure she would have been waiting for me after I got a fresh cup of coffee. I worked through the afternoon and had a draft of space shuttle instalment number two in Gerry's box before the end of the day. Hopefully that would instill a bit of confidence in my priorities for him.

I started to undo the deadbolts at my apartment at just the same moment I heard my phone ring in my bag. It was too early for Mom to be out of the Town Meeting, so I knew it had to be Logan. I rushed inside to answer before it sent him to voicemail. He had some explaining to do.

" _What is wrong with you?"_

"Well hello to you too…"

" _Logan_!"

"Besides the fact that I just spent six and half hours on a plane and am roughly three thousand miles away from you, I thought I was doing alright, but apparently that's a fallacious feeling."

"I'm glad you made it there safely, that's not exactly what I was talking about."

"You're going to have to catch me up then, Ace. I'm a little lost."

" _Lost_? _As in out of your mind?_ Because I think you'd have to be to require your father and soon-to-be business partner to be nice to me as a term of the major business endeavor you're about to embark on. _What in the hell is wrong with you?"_

I heard him groan on his end of the line, "Ace, _calm down_ …"

"I'm sorry; I seem to have used up my _calm_ allotment for the day when Mitchum showed up in the newsroom this morning."

" _What?_ "

"My thoughts exactly… What in the world would he be doing coming to talk to me? And at work of all places! _Oh, yea… he's come to oh so subtly inform me of the impact I have on your merger."_

"I can't _believe_ that he…"

"I can't believe that _you_ did this. You promised me you wouldn't do anything rash."

"This wasn't rash."

"You made _me_ a linchpin in a major business deal. You don't call that rash?"

"No I don't. I thought about this... _a lot_."

"Logan…"

"Rory, would you just _listen_ to me?"

I took a deep breath. I guess if I wanted him to explain I would have to stop my lambasting and let him talk. " _Fine_."

"I told you that you don't deserve to be treated the way my family has been treating you. In fact, I _promised_ your mother that I wouldn't let you go through this without a fight, and you wouldn't expect me to risk the wrath of Lorelai Gilmore, would you?"

 _He has a point_ , "No, but…"

" _No buts, Rory_. You're supposed to be listening. I can't control the way that they feel. I wish I could, but I can't, not right now at least. But Mitchum acts solely in terms of business, and if making contingencies to this deal is the only way I can get him to treat you with any respect then that's what I'll do."

"Logan, you can't…"

"I did. It's done. And to be fair, it's a personal contract, not something that will be represented by the lawyers, but I made it very clear to him that it needs to be honored as if it were."

The fact that my name wasn't going to show up in public documents regarding the merger made me feel a little better… but only a little. "What exactly were the terms of this contract?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"He only said that it came down to respecting me, and us. _And_ that he pretty much had no choice but to agree to it."

He chuckled, "That's pretty much the gist of it…"

"I didn't ask for the gist."

He sighed. "Look… I told you, I've thought about this, so please don't accuse me of being impetuous. I love you Rory, and if it came down to it, I would choose a happy life with you over whatever comes of this deal. He needed to know that. _You_ should know that."

 _This is insane._ I didn't know what to say… what could I say? I thought that Mitchum was overreacting about my influence on this deal, but apparently I was wrong. Logan was not messing around… He had every intention of choosing me over the merger. Not _at all_ what I want him to do, but I couldn't exactly be upset with him either…

"I should be mad at you for putting me in the middle of this."

"I guess that's your prerogative, but I really hope you're not. I have meant every word of what I said about doing things differently this time Rory, and that includes involving you in important decisions like this."

"You could have at least given me a little heads up about _my involvement_."

"I'm sorry. I never thought that he would confront you like that... though I guess I shouldn't put anything past him. How bad was he?"

"Well… he made it pretty clear that he's basically waiting for the two of us to fail, and he obviously resents what you're doing, but he said he can accept it if he has to."

"And he does. The board of his own company would turn on him if this doesn't go through. They've already making plans to rely on what we can do for them. "

"Speaking of plans… I told Gerry about mine."

"I guess I wasn't the only one making risky moves this morning."

"Yea, well, you father made it a point to let him know that I had interned for him… a fact that I had intentionally left out of my resume. So naturally Gerry wanted to know why. I was going to have to explain, but figured it was better to let him know my plans before he thought that I had been waiting to play that card to take full advantage."

"So…"

"Cat's out of the bag… I officially know the Huntzbergers."

" _I'll say_ …" His comment had a slightly suggestive tone.

"Don't be gross. I'm not talking Biblical sense, but he does know about us being together. I had to give him some assurance that I would _never_ be leaving The Post for a Huntzberger paper."

"And what about the prospect of you jumping ship for The Times?"

"There is no jumping ship. There is no S.S. Times to jump to; not even a dingy. I just told him that I was going to be working on pieces that would probably be too political for his column and that I had certain interest in getting them seen at one, particular publication."

"Okay Captain Ahab, so what did he say?"

"Well… he can't stop me from doing it, but he kind of implied that if it affects my work for him that I might need a life vest."

"You can swim, can't you?"

"Does doggy paddle count?"

"Worst case scenario you end up hanging out with Ginger and Gilligan."

"Thanks for those heartfelt words of encouragement." I hope he picked up the sarcasm there.

"Anytime, Ace. Listen, I've got a meeting in five minutes with my right hand man over here, so I've got to get going."

"Didn't you _just_ get off the plane?"

"Yea, but it's still well within business hours over here, not it that would really matter, and he has to fill me in on the latest updates. Besides, I'm running out of nautical references…"

I let out a sigh, "Well alright, Captain Aubrey."

"Aubrey?"

"Oh don't tell me you've forgotten Russell Crowe… _Master and Commander_?"

He laughed; I'm sure remembering the first real conversation we had. "Well played, Ace."

"I thought so."

"Gotta run."

"Bon voyage…"

"You're exhausting."

"You love me..."

He paused; I knew he was smiling. "Yes, I do. I'll talk to you later."

He hung up and I found myself sitting at my table, realizing how much he must actually love me. He would walk away from everything for me… _and to think this morning I thought that moving into his apartment was a big deal._

Before I could do further analysis of the situation on my own, my phone rang again. _Mom_.

"Hey…"

"Are you working, you seem distracted…"

"Not working, just trying to bring the Santa Maria into harbor."

"Rediscovering the Americas, huh? That's rather ambitious of you…"

"Yes, well it's been a rather ambitious couple of days…"

"Then let's hear it."

"Would you like to hear it in chronological order, or get the headlines first?"

"Well I assume you had something to tell me this morning, and it sounds like more has happened since then, so let's go chronologically."

"Okay…" I started with Dominic's plan to get my foot in the door at The Times, and as I expected she was skeptical. I knew she worried about stuff like this because she wants what's best for me, but I assured her that I was going to try and juggle everything. Besides, there was more to that story later.

Next I filled her in on how Logan insisted I accompany him to the launch party, sans the more salacious details of our evening, but with a few tidbits about Leslie and Finn. She was aptly intrigued by the coupling. I skipped ahead a little bit so that she could appreciate the catty girls from the office this morning, which I had almost forgotten about myself.

"You should have told them off."

"What for? Besides, do you think they would have believed me?"

"That's not the point. I'm with Leslie on this one."

"Surprise, surprise… but she was right about one thing."

"What's that?"

"That it's getting pretty serious…" I told her about what Logan had said, and she inserted ' _Awws_ ' in all the appropriate places. In all honesty, it was pretty romantic.

"Are you going to be neighbors with George and Weezy?"

" _That's it?_ I tell you that I'm moving in with Logan and all you have to say involves a reference to The Jeffersons? Did you even _watch_ The Jeffersons?"

"Honestly? No… But I did see a couple of episodes of All in the Family, and how could I miss a chance for a chorus of Movin' on Up…"

I stopped her before she could actually start singing. "Mom. Please."

"Rory, what do you want me to say? You've lived together before so it's not like I have to go over the whole spiel about how to live with a boy… Heck you lived with Logan before I had ever lived with a boy. And you've got to admit that his whole ' _want to come home to you'_ thing was sweet."

"I know. It was very sweet, but it's a _big_ step."

"Of course it's a big step, theoretically anyway. You guys made it clear you were serious, so isn't this obviously what comes next?"

I paused. I guess I may have been projecting some of the weight of Logan's deal with his dad onto the moving in situation. "I guess, but… apparently it's part of a bigger issue."

"How big?"

"You picked chronological so you're going to settle for the trailer on that one for now… So I agreed to move in with him, then this morning he heads off to his meeting with Mitchum before his flight. He told me it's supposed to be about finalizing their contracts, so I'm thinking a couple of adjustments here, argue a couple of last minute numbers there, you know?"

"Sure, sure, typical family breakfast stuff…"

"Well, turns out I had _no idea_ what was going to transpire at this meeting. Later that morning I get a call letting me know that someone was here to see me, and I come to find out that it's Mitchum."

" _Mitchum_?"

" _Mitchum_! At my office. Of course there was an awkward thing with us and my editor, which opened a whole can of worms later, but it turns out he had some things he wanted to _discuss_ with me."

"Did you tell him to beat it?"

"I thought about it… but I had to know what was _so_ important that he would come down to talk to me about in person."

"And what was so important?"

"Logan, who promised he wouldn't do anything crazy, had a contract drafted which stipulates that Mitchum has to respect me, and Logan, and our relationship."

"Are you _kidding_?"

"I wish I were. I was dumbfounded. I couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth, or the fact that he had actually agreed to it."

"The all-powerful, ever intimidating Mitchum Huntzberger is bowing to a contract that says he has to be nice to you?"

"My question exactly… I'm going to forego the authenticity of our timeline here to skip ahead to the part where I just asked Logan if he had lost his mind. I was so upset that he would do something so ridiculous, but…"

" _But_?"

I relayed the major points of the conversation I had just had with Logan, emphasizing his sincerity about giving up this deal to make sure that we could be happy.

"Well it's not exactly a sonnet, but it's certainly one way to profess one's undying devotion."

"l like I said, a much bigger deal."

"Yea… who would have thought that my daughter would be a player in a major publishing merger? You know, you're making things very hard on your brother. Unless he grows up to be like the President or something he's going to have a major inferiority complex thanks to you."

"He can thank me for the motivation during his Inaugural Address."

I rounded out the recap of the day with Gerry's reaction to the double whammy of confiding to him my other pursuits, and the fact that I am involved with the biggest family in the business.

"So does reminding you of your priorities mean that he's going to be making your life more difficult?"

"I hope not… I'm kind of banking on him continuing to convince me to stay at The Post, which I'm not at all opposed to, but I also can't _not_ take this chance with Dominic."

"As long as you're not going to be throwing away everything you've worked for since you got there…"

"I'm not… at least I'm hoping that I'm not. I'm trying to get ahead of all my current deadlines in an attempt to prove my loyalty to Gerry. It's just going to be a crazy amount of work to simultaneously be working on pieces that will be quality enough to show The Times…"

She took a deep breath, obviously still trying come to terms with what could be a big risk in my career, "Okay kid, if you think this is your chance…"

"I think it might be. Logan thinks it is."

"Well, if _Logan_ thinks it is…"

"Mom that is _not_ what I meant."

"I know… So back to the whole moving thing; do you have a game plan?"

"A game plan?"

"Yea, does your rich, important boyfriend have people coming to magically have all of your stuff appear at his place?"

"No… I was pretty much going to go old school. Leslie is coming over tomorrow night to help me start packing and maybe make the first trip. Logan won't be back until at least Sunday, so I've got time."

"Want some help?"

" _Really_?"

"Yea… Wednesday? I can leave Landon with Sookie, I'll take Luke's truck and meet you after work. You can show me your new digs…"

" _Perfect_. Oh, I'm going to order from this new Thai place tonight, if it's good we can order it again then."

I was glad that she was coming. It always helped to be able to talk to her, but nothing beat having her here.

I poured over the outlines of Obama's 2008 campaign promises I had made four years ago as I ate what turned out to be mediocre Thai food; a little disappointing, but the research proved to be fruitful, so it balanced out the night. There were new appropriations coming to pass regarding his education budget increases. It was topical, there is always consumer interest in education, and I had written a piece regarding his proposed budgets during his previous campaign. _This was my piece_.

I worked late gathering some research and carefully balanced my time at work the next day. I gave the suggested edits to my space shuttle piece due focus and got a revised copy to Gerry by the end of the day, who was satisfied enough to send it to copy. In the meantime I did some digging around the office to see who had contacts with legislators regarding education, while trying not to be too obvious.

Leslie and I went to pick up my car from the garage after work so that we could make a trip over to Logan's later, and then started the arduous process of packing. For the size of my apartment it seemed impossible to have as much stuff as I did, but apparently _all_ things are possible.

We made the first official moving trip with a few heavy boxes of what were mostly books. Tommy was nice enough to help us get them upstairs, but that's pretty much where the productive portion of the evening ended, at least as far as Leslie was concerned.

She had been impressed by the lobby and the doorman, particularly when he referred to me by name, but she had held it together in his presence. It was only after he had left us at the door to the apartment that she let her true colors show. I undid the single lock… _a nice change of pace, I have to admit_ … and led her inside.

" _Damn_."

She put the box she was carrying down on the floor in front of her and proceeded to gawk. I bit back a smile as I watched her wander around a little; into the dining room and then, much like I was, was drawn to the windows in the living room. Her mouth hung open like a Tex Avery cartoon staring at an animated burlesque dancer.

" _Holy Hell_."

I mimicked Logan's response from the first night I had been here, "Not bad, huh?"

She glared at me, knowing full well that it was much more than ' _not bad'_. " _Have you seen this view_?"

I nodded and answered sardonically, "Once or twice… Now, are you going to help or what?"

Reluctantly she pulled herself away from the windows, "Yea, yea… So, where are you keeping all this stuff?"

"I don't really know, actually…"I hadn't really thought that far ahead… I was about to pull out my phone to text Logan, but on my way back towards where we had left the boxes I realized that there was a note on the table.

" _There's room in the closet, feel free to move whatever you need to. Call Colin and Finn to help, and check the office. – L"_

"Well isn't he the second coming of Hemmingway."

I rolled my eyes at her. Personally, I had become quite fond of his little notes. _It's rather romantic_.

"Come on, we're supposed to check the office."

She shook her head at the notion of having an actual office as I pushed her away from the dining room, past the stairs, and towards our destination. She stopped short in the doorway and I ran into her.

"Rory, there's a suit of armor in here…"

" _Henry_!" I had only glanced in here before and hadn't noticed my old friend standing in the corner.

"It has a name?"

I nodded enthusiastically, "We haven't always been the best of friends, but I'm kind of glad to know he's still around."

I finally got around her into the room and found an empty book case against the opposite wall.

"Awe, he _does_ love me!"

"And is obviously well aware of what a nerd you are…"

" _Hey_. I prefer the term bibliophile."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself, but either way, your books are _heavy_. We got them upstairs, but I'm not prepared to move them again quite yet."

"They'll feel neglected."

"They used to live in your _oven_. I think they can stand to sit in boxes for a little while."

"Fine…" I started to head for the kitchen. "You want something to drink?"

When she didn't respond I turned around to see her half way up the stairs.

"What are you doing?"

"You know _exactly_ what I'm doing."

"Come on… I'm sure there's at least one bottle of wine around here." There was in fact a whole wine cooler, but I thought maybe a hunt for it might entice her enough to come back downstairs...

Sure enough she turned and eyed me, "You know I'm going to make my way through this place eventually."

I shook my head. "I know, but I've got a bottle of red and a pizza menu that says I can hold you off for at least a little while."

She agreed to my terms and settled for nosing her way through the kitchen and perusing his DVD collection while we waited for the pizza to arrive.

Ironically, there was a rerun of The Jeffersons on TV while Leslie flipped through the channels, but just as delivery man rang the bell we were happy to find that Footloose was just starting… _the original of course_.

"If only we'd known… I would have ordered bacon on our pizza."

"A lost opportunity, indeed."

By the time Kevin Bacon was getting the final dance going my phone buzzed on the coffee table; it was Logan calling. I hadn't talked to him all day, so I sacrificed to see Leslie do her best Lori Singer impression and answered the phone.

"Hey…"

"Hi… Hanging out with Kenny Loggins?"

He must have been able to hear the movie in the background, but I ran with the bit as I made my way back towards the dining room and sat at the table. "Yea, I think he's going to break into Danger Zone next; honestly, the man is the king of movie soundtracks."

" _Damn_ , and here I am stuck on the other side of the country."

"Well, don't get yourself too worked up about it… Les and I are just taking a break."

" _From_?"

"Oh you know, just taking over some guy's apartment…"

"Did you break in? I don't know how lucky you'll be trying to get a second felony expunged from your record…"

"No, if you can believe it this guy gave me a key…"

"Brave man."

"Very."

"So you're getting settled?"

"If by settled you mean that we lugged a few boxes upstairs and then ordered a pizza, then yes."

"Sounds like a productive evening."

"Hey, enlightening a town of deprived teenagers to the culture of dance and rock n' roll is quite the task."

"I can imagine. And that warehouse gymnastics routine… I hope you stretched."

"Never… _Oh hey,_ thank you."

"For what?"

"The bookshelf."

I could tell he was smiling, "I'm glad you got my note."

"I did. Convenient too, since my books happen to be what we brought over tonight."

"No wonder you needed a break."

"I'm glad you understand the struggle… By the way, Leslie was _very_ impressed by Henry, and to be honest I was a little surprised that he made the cut given you're mature, professional persona these days."

"Well it's not like I could put him up for adoption or something. He's seen too much to trust him to just anyone…"

"Ah yes, if that statue could talk…"

"…the stories he could tell would get us _all_ in trouble. Not to mention his feelings on you, after the way you insulted him…"

"Oh don't worry; we've put our differences behind us. I think we can coexist, but if he messes with my books, there will be hell to pay."

"Duly noted. I'll have a talk with him."

"So, how are things on the West Coast?"

"Well today was pretty much a marathon meeting with the partners who will be managing things out here; hammering out the details of who will be handling what, how things will work with our board moving to New York, all of which I'm sure will be reviewed tomorrow with our investors. A lot of the rest of the week will be introducing the new team to all of our clients, give them some confidence that they will still be taken care of."

"Sounds like a lot of long days…"

"They have to be if I'm going to get home to you by the end of the week… in fact I have some things I still need to go over tonight before we meet with the number crunchers tomorrow. I just wanted to check in…"

"I'm glad you did... I miss you."

"I miss you too, Ace. As soon as things are done here, I am on a plane back."

I smiled in spite of myself, " _Good_."

"Hey, did you call the guys? They're ready to be at your beck and call."

"I haven't yet… My mom's coming up with Luke's truck tomorrow to help with stuff."

"Good. So I take it she's cool with this?"

"Would it matter if she weren't?" _A little late for that now_.

"Kind of… I mean I'd still want you to move in, but I certainly don't want to be on her bad side."

"I think you're safe for now."

"Glad to hear it."

I could hear him trying to stifle a yawn. "Go get your stuff done and get some sleep."

" _Sleep_? I don't need no stinking sleep."

"Hey, if you get to worry about me, I get to worry about you."

" _Fine_. Where are you staying tonight?"

"I don't know yet…" I peered around the corner and saw that the couch where I'd left Leslie was empty. "I seem to have lost Leslie, so we'll see."

"What does _that_ mean?"

"You don't want to know." I shook my head, knowing that she had wandered off to snoop somewhere.

He tentatively responded, " _Alright_... How did work go today?"

"Honestly, I think it's a little early to make a judgement call on how things are going to play out, but so far things were fine."

"Good. They should be."

He was confident that things would be fine, so I should be too, _right_? Right. There was a funny pause on the line. "Ace, that was my call waiting, I gotta run."

Duty calls. "Alright… Hey, I meant what I said about getting some sleep."

"Alright, alright, _jeeze Mom_."

"It's only because I love you." It never hurt to use his own logic against him.

"Love you too, Ace."

I hung up and found myself smiling. It would probably qualify in Paris' book as a harlequin romance face, but I didn't care; he was working hard to get home to _me_.

"Rory!"

Leslie shouting my name from upstairs pulled me out of my love-struck haze. _Of course she had snuck upstairs._ I shouted back to her without getting up, " _What_?"

"Get up here!"

I rolled my eyes as I made my way upstairs and found her standing in the walk-in closet, in front of a chest of drawers.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, I wanted to check out just how much room you have in the closet… very impressive by the way, especially considering that you don't have enough close to fill half of this space…"

"You called me up here to tell me that for the first time in my life I have too much closet space? I've _seen_ this closet…"

"Have you seen _this_?"

One of the drawers in front of her was empty and I realized that she was holding small box that was all too familiar. _I had definitely seen it_. "I didn't know it was _here_. _I didn't even know he kept it_."

"So it's…"

I nodded.

"Can I…"

We both already knew what was in it, but I knew she was dying to see it. "I guess… You've gone this far, why stop now?"

Once more, her jaw dropped as she opened the velvety lid, and then she looked at me. "Rory, it's gorgeous."

"I _know_."

"And you _still_ said no?"

I sighed, "It had _nothing_ to do with the ring… Haven't we been over this? I needed to live my life, he had to figure out how to subsist away from his family, we were too young. It wasn't right."

"What about now?"

"What _about_ now?"

"What would you do if he asked you again, right now."

"He's not going to ask me right now. For all we know he's held onto it all of this time out of…" I struggled to come up with an ending to that sentence. "…resentment, or something."

She looked at me with one eyebrow raised. "We both know that's not true. Come on… you're living together; he's standing up to his family for you. If he came home on Sunday and asked you to marry him, what would you say?"

This was not a topic that I had broached yet, even just within myself. Everything that happened over the last four years was a direct result of me having said no. I knew now that it was the right thing to do, that we were both better off for it. And I _we're_ better together now because of it…

"Come on. Let's get out of here. My mom's coming into town tomorrow; she can help us with the rest of my stuff…"

She reluctantly accepted my choice to ignore her question and put the ring back where she had found it. "Whatever you say, boss."

* * *

** I do not own any character or content related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - A nice long chapter, with more to come this weekend, I promise. In other news... How thrilled are all of you about the confirmation news this week! I found myself a little disappointed that other people in my life... ahem, significant other... didn't reciprocate my excitement. My fellow Fan Fictioners are the only ones who will truly appreciate it!

xxoo


	26. Ch 26: A Better Plan Than Wesley Snipes

I had decided before I was even home that night not to bring up the ring to Logan. _He would have said something if he wanted to talk about it, right?_ Did I honestly think, after everything that he said about the time we were apart, that he had held onto it out of something like resentment? Maybe at first, but probably not now… _I hope not now…_

I thought a lot about what Leslie asked me while we were standing in the closet, what I would say if he asked me again. I thought about it practically all night. I don't know why her question was bugging me so much; we're together, I'm moving in with him, all of the important things are the way they should be. Of course I would… _Oh_.

That's when it hit me. Her question was only bothering me because coming up with my answer _didn't_ bother me at all. I knew that if I said it out loud it wouldn't make any sense, but… I had agonized about what to say the first time around. I thought about it again and again from every angle and went back and forth. But now I just _know_. It was very unlike me, so naturally it seemed crazy to _just know_ , to not worry or have to think about it.

That didn't mean I was going to be sitting around waiting for him to propose or anything… In fact I pushed it as far back in my mind as I could manage. _One step at a time, Gilmore_. I was still just getting used to living together again.

At work Wednesday I was beginning to get the very uncomfortable feeling that Gerry was keeping a close eye on me; like he was taking note of everything I was working on. Logan called me in the middle of the day, but I let it go to voicemail. I had just promised Gerry that there would be no Huntzberger interruptions, even if Logan was a welcome one, and the last thing I needed was to be chatting when he walked by.

I made calls to NASA looking for final thoughts about what will follow this launch, I narrowed down my options for my next Post piece, and thanks to a well-placed latte, I made a new friend down in archives who helped me dig up what The Post had run in the past about Obama's stance on education. All in all, a pretty productive day.

A little before five my office line rang; it was Sarah. "Rory, a woman just left a message for you. I offered to transfer her, but she said no, but that I was to repeat her message exactly as I heard it, ' _The second coming has arrived'_ I assume you know what that means."

I rolled my eyes, _of course_. She could have called me directly, or just sent a text message, but _no_. Leave it to my mother to involve a third party to orchestrate a dramatic arrival. "Thanks Sarah, I've got it."

I packed up my stuff, and for good measure stopped by Gerry's office before I was ready to leave. I was actually relieved to see that he was already gone for the night, but I left word with Sherry to let me know if he needed anything from me. _A little brown nosing never hurt_.

"Hey! Can I tag along or is this strictly a mother-daughter thing?"

I turned around and found Leslie following behind me into the elevator.

"Well, you'll have to take it up with her, but I think your outlook is good."

She and my mom had hit it off from the start. I knew they would, they are practically the same person. As anticipated, my mom greeted us from where she sat in Luke's truck at the curb downstairs, and upon Leslie's request to join the fun my mother replied gesturing to the cart on the corner, "Grab me a coffee and you're on."

 _Coffee, the true way to a woman's heart._

Amazingly, we found a parking spot across the street from my building, a practically unheard of feat, and after my mother equated climbing the four flights of stairs to scaling Everest we made it inside.

"Well, it seems like you girls got… absolutely _nothing_ done yesterday."

To be fair, it did _look_ like that. "Hey, we moved my books over."

"Oh good, the heavy lifting's done then."

Leslie chimed in, "Your shoes are still here…"

" _Hey_ , you cannot judge my shoe collection _and_ come to shop in it. Besides, hers is worse." I nudged my mom.

"Passing on addictions to caffeine and footwear, my work as a mother is done."

"Yes, you're practically Carol Brady."

"Oh nice! Do you think we could get Luke to wear those groovy wide collared shirts that Robert Reed wore?"

" _With_ the patterned bell-bottoms?"

" _Naturally_. It would just look silly otherwise. Maybe we could even ditch the baseball cap for the permed mini-fro…"

"Probably only if you're willing to go with the mullet-flip thing Florence Henderson had going on…"

"Ugh. You drive a hard bargain, my friend."

"Well, I know he married you, but Luke's got to draw a line in the sand at some point."

"How does he keep up with the two of you?"

"It _does_ help that we live in separate states."

"Alright girls, enough banter… I can't believe those words came out of my mouth, but we've got some serious work to do."

We spent the next couple of hours packing up most of my life… leaving only the essentials for the rest of the week. We were pretty much surrounded by boxes by the time we gave in to hunger. Having been underwhelmed by the Thai food the other night, we opted for the tried and true Chinese food from the restaurant I had taken Logan to on our first 'date'.

After a couple of trips to the truck we decided it was time to call in reinforcements, and Leslie was more than happy to jump at the chance to call Finn and have him and Colin meet us at Logan's to help unload all of this.

We carried one last round of boxes to the truck before we were on our way. As arranged, Colin and Finn were waiting in the underground garage.

"Hello, boys."

"At your service, Ms. Gilmore."

"Mom, you remember Finn and Colin…"

"How could I forget?" Their first encounter had been at the police station the night Logan and I stole the yacht, so she had _nothing_ but fond memories of the two of them… It didn't help that they had unwittingly hit on her at the time.

Ever a couple of Lotharios in gentleman's clothing, they bowed and Colin took her hand, "Lorelai, looking lovely as always…"

"Down boys, I'm a married woman now…"

"And we have work to do." This whole Colin checking out my mom thing was still very weird.

"Right, and work we shall… what's first?"

We happily bestowed the boxes of shoes upon them while we tackled lighter boxes. In just a couple of trips we had everything upstairs, which was just as well since, as Mom pointed out it was getting late.

"Well kids, I hate to pull the ' _I've got a long drive home'_ card, but I've got a long drive home… I'm going to call it a night." She looked at me, "You staying here tonight, kid or you want a ride back?"

"I'll take the ride." I had my heart set on at least on more night in my hard-earned apartment.

"Then I guess we're out of here too…" Leslie failed at trying to subtly imply that she would be leaving with someone other than who she arrived with as she and Finn headed towards the door.

"And that's my cue to get back to my lonely, dull existence…"

"Oh, don't fret Colin… I'm sure there's another girl out there for you to fall for hard and fast."

"Here's hoping… maybe she can get me a more fascinating job."

Finn held the elevator doors for us, "You know Colin, I really don't see what's stopping you from quitting the job that you so clearly despise... you're pretty much wasting that trust fund of yours."

"It's the principle of the matter… Besides, now that I've got work experience, if I leave the job I have, dear old Dad going to expect me to come work for him."

"Oh the tortured lives of the over privileged… The things I missed out on when I chose the life of a runaway teen mother."

"Honestly Lorelai, you should have stuck around… Think of all the fun Rory could have had growing up with friends like us."

I rolled my eyes at Finn, " _Thank you_ for not sticking around."

"Well, mother knows best."

We got to the garage and Mom said her goodbyes.

She hugged Leslie, "Leslie, I'm sure I'll see you soon…" and then turned to Colin and Finn, who each had their arms outstretched waiting for their turn. It never came, "Boys… don't be too stupid."

I laughed at their dramatic disappointment as we got into the truck. "Come on, Mom… with friends like that, who needs MTV?"

"With friends like that, who would _want_ MTV?"

"Oh cut them some slack, they're funny, and thus far have acted decidedly less debaucherously since returning to my life… Not entirely of course, but then they wouldn't be them. Plus there's the whole thing with Les and Finn."

"So, the two of them are still a thing?"

"It would seem that way. She insists that they are just ' _having fun'_ but I don't know… This is the most sequential ' _fun'_ I've seen either of them have…"

"You and Logan started out as just ' _fun'_. Of course there was that whole Founder's Day Punch incident that kind of a catalyst towards monogamy…"

"Ah yes… A day I look back on with great pride."

"As you should; I added it to your baby book and everything."

"Gee thanks…" We had pulled up to my building, but had no luck with parking this time.

"So, I've got to pick up Landon from Sookie's, but do you need me to make a return trip to handle the furniture?"

"I don't think so…"

"You going to sell it?"

"No… it can stay for now. My lease actually isn't up until June, so I figure I can leave it all here."

"So you're holding onto your stuff in case things don't work out?"

" _No_ …" I looked up to where my apartment was on the fourth floor, "I guess I'm just a little bummed is all." She looked confused. "Not about moving in with Logan, but… I worked really hard to have a life in New York, to make it on my own. It's just kind of the end of an era."

She shrugged, but looked hopeful, "Or the beginning of one…"

I was kind of surprised, given her cautious attitude toward reuniting with Logan in the first place, but I guess he had Huntzbergered her too. "Thanks, Mom."

"Anytime, kid. Text me when you get upstairs."

"Will do. Hug Landon for me."

"Done."

I did as I was told and let her know when I got in, and Logan too since I figured he would appreciate it. I sat on the couch and looked at my mostly empty apartment. I ruminated on what my mom had said and it occurred to me about it being the beginning of an era instead of the end of one. It really was a better way to look at it.

Sure, I had struggled, especially in the beginning to make a life here, but I had made it happen, and I shouldn't be any less proud of how far I had come because I was moving into an apartment that I had no financial responsibility to. In fact, I had started to think about how proud I, or moreover _we_ should be about how far _we_ had come, when I got a reply from Logan.

" _Glad you're home safe. Still in a meeting and I got roped into meeting a client for drinks after."_

I guess the day never ends in the big leagues of publishing. No wonder his apartment looks like he's never there…

" _Don't worry about it. Have fun."_ I hope he was enjoying it at least.

" _Maybe if you were here. I love you."_

" _Love you too."_

" _Night, Ace."_

Realizing how busy he actually is only made me more confident about agreeing to move in. If we ended up in the same place at the end of the day, regardless of how long a day it had been, we would be okay. Besides, I had plenty of my own work to do, so it's not like I would be sitting around pining for him all the time.

The inkling I had about Gerry keeping a watchful eye on me from the day before was pretty much a certainty when I got to work Thursday morning. He passed by my desk several times over the course of the morning, never actually stopping, but always glancing as if he was trying to gauge what I was working on. My article for the week was already submitted, I had guaranteed him one more story in my series, and our next pitch meeting wasn't until Monday, so he shouldn't be expecting anything from me immediately. It was _definitely_ a little unnerving.

Thankfully I had call scheduled with a NASA spokesperson that afternoon to discuss the likelihood of the Space Shuttle Program being extended again, which would not only determine the direction of my last instalment, but also keep me occupied and out from under Gerry's thumb.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I found out that Gerry had meetings of his own all afternoon, and once I got back to my desk I discovered that I was even luckier than I thought. My new friend down in archives had emailed me copies of all reports done on Obamas education plan since he announced his initial candidacy. It wasn't that I hadn't been doing research on my own, but being able to see how The Post had reported on it originally would give me an idea of how deep I would need to go if I was going to have a chance of impressing The Times.

I went to Logan's after work. I had spent the last three hours poring over back articles, and I was really in the mood to do something mindless, like unpack.

I managed to drag several boxes of shoes and clothes upstairs, turned the music up too loud and dove in. A while later, when I was sorting my shoe collection, I could hear my phone vibrating, but I had no idea where it was. I had managed to surround myself in an absolute labyrinth of boxes. I tracked down the buzzing just in time. _Paris_?

I hadn't talked to Paris in over a month, not that it was unusual, but it occurred to me before I answered that she had missed _a lot_ ; and of any of my friends, I would get the most crap from her about being back with Logan. Thankfully, being Paris, she had specific intentions with her call and got right to it.

"Hey Paris, what's going…"

"Rory I need a favor."

 _Uh, oh_. "What kind of favor?"

"I need you to come to Boston."

" _Okay_ …"

"This weekend."

" _This weekend?"_ Logan's supposed to be back on Sunday, and I'm supposed to be _here_ for him to come home to. "Paris, I don't…"

"The coming to Boston part isn't actually the favor… if transportation is an issue I can make arrangements for you."

"I don't need transportation arrangements, Paris. But what exactly _is_ the favor?" It wasn't like her to drag things out like this.

"I need you to be my Maid of Honor."

" _What_?" I honestly wasn't sure if I had heard her correctly. " _Your Maid of Honor_?"

"Well it's you, Nanny, which would just be kind of sad, or Doyle's insufferable sister. I'm certainly not going to have any of these bimbettes from Med School…"

"You're getting _married_?"

"I know what you're thinking… It's an antiquated institution designed to reinforce a man's sense of ownership and power in a relationship..." _Not at all what I was thinking, but a perfectly Paris ideology_ , "… But as long as I'm still a student, Doyle gets a tax break. Plus it will make him eligible for the undoubtedly better health benefits I will have when I get a job…"

I could not believe they were getting married. "So you're saying this is purely a means to an end?"

"Exactly. The concept of marriage is dead anyway, the majority of them are a complete sham, but this way we each benefit, thus continuing the symbiotic nature of our relationship."

I rolled my eyes. " _Of course_ … And it's got nothing to do with the fact that you _love_ each other, or _want_ to be married?"

"Oh _Doyle_ has been asking me for years. I've only agreed _now_ because we're running out of time where our income discrepancies will work to our advantage. The fact that it will be getting him off my back is only a peripheral benefit."

"Always the romantic Paris…"

"Yea, yea… are you coming or not?"

"When is the wedding?"

"I have an overnight clinical shift Friday and Doyle has a deadline Saturday, so we're squeezing it in on Sunday. Nothing fancy, we got a Justice of the Peace, an old friend of my father's, to agree to meet us at the courthouse in the afternoon. His family is dragging us to a reception after, but it's not mandatory for you."

Logan would be disappointed if I wasn't home, but I couldn't miss this business arrangement disguised as a wedding. "Okay."

"You'll be there?"

"With bells on."

"Good. Skip the bells. It's at three o'clock… and try to wear something green. If you don't have anything don't worry about it, but that's what color tie Doyle is wearing. Oh and bring your mother if you can."

"Are your parents still on the lam?"

"Why do you think I'm not willing to take shortcuts with the IRS?"

" _Poor Paris_ , cornered into marrying her college sweetheart as a way to work the federal tax system."

"Well it's a better plan than Wesley Snipes had."

"Very true."

"Hey speaking of college paramours…"

 _Oh boy._ What with her big news I thought I'd get out of this one…

"…Doyle tells me the Ghost-of-Media-Moguls-Past is setting up shop in your neck of the woods."

"Yea, I've heard something to that effect..."

"Well journalism might be a compacted industry, but it's New York so you'll probably be able to avoid any disastrous encounters."

I scrunched up my face as I looked around at all my belongings spread around his apartment, and hesitantly responded, "I wouldn't exactly say disastrous…"

"You've _seen_ him?"

"Yea, we kind of ran into each other right after he got into town…"

" _Did you sleep with him_?" Her voice was suddenly very loud and her tone was decidedly accusatory.

"No... Well, not _that_ night." I had to tell her eventually.

" _Oh my God._ You're not seeing him again, are you? You can't be serious. Have you _thought_ about what this could do to your career?"

" _Paris_ …" _Of course work is what she's worried about._

"People are going to treat you differently you know. They're going to think you're trying to sleep your way to the top. Or worse, they're going to hand you the good stuff to get to him and you won't have to work for any of it."

Only Paris would think that getting _more_ opportunities would be a downside, not that I was going to take them, but it still made me laugh.

"This isn't funny Rory. _Oh God_. That's not how you got that piece in The Times is it?"

" _No_! And _thanks a lot_ for that vote of confidence."

"Well, it's not a hard conclusion to jump to… It was actually a pretty good piece by the way."

" _Thanks_ … Besides, Mitchum already beat you to that particular hurdle."

"You've talked to Mitchum? So this is _serious_ … I've got to say I did not see this coming."

"Neither did I, but yea… it's serious."

She took a breath and her demeanor had calmed considerably but she was definitely analyzing the situation, "How serious are we talking here?"

"Serious as in… I'm currently unpacking my stuff at his apartment."

" _You're living together_? How did this happen? I can't have been more than like a month… And after the way things ended before…" She was definitely having a hard time wrapping her mind around this one.

"Well, our first few encounters weren't disastrous as you put it, but they were certainly… _eventful_. A lot of awkward silences, followed very quickly by some _very_ honest confessions… At the beginning it was pretty much like the Road Runner had dropped anvil of emotional baggage on my head, but… _I don't know_ … Things are different than before; different than I would have expected them to be."

"Well I _hope_ so. I assume, given his success, that he's done gallivanting around like a drunken imbecile."

I smiled. He definitely had some of the old Logan in there somewhere, but he was much more responsible about it these days. "For the most part."

"He's not buying your affections is he? Or just wiling you with his charm?"

" _Again_ , thanks for the faith in my character. I might reconsider this whole Maid of Honor thing."

"I'm _sorry_ but I can't abide by this relationship if you aren't covering all of your bases."

"There covered, Paris. He's good, I'm good, work is good, his family is a pain in the ass, but we're dealing with it. We're good."

She thought about it for a few seconds, "Fine, but if he puts one toe out of line…"

"Don't worry. You're going to have to take a number on that one."

"Good… I'll see you Sunday?"

"See you Sunday."

A conversation with Paris is always a little exhausting, but I can appreciate that she was satisfied with the cut and dry synopsis of our story, at least for now. _And she's getting married?!_ I have to say, I'm actually really excited about this, especially for Doyle _. Poor Guy_. I was going to have to break the news to Logan that I wouldn't be there Sunday, though… _I guess there's no time like the present._

I picked up the phone and dialed his number. He picked up almost immediately, "Ace, I was just about to call you…"

"What's up?"

"Well you sent me to voicemail yesterday, thanks for that by the way, I was busy last night, and I thought you might miss the sound of my voice…"

"So modest… And sorry about the voicemail thing. I was at work and I'm still trying to figure out where Gerry stands on all of his newly acquired information."

"Is he giving you a hard time?"

"I don't know yet… It's weird, he hasn't said anything, but it's like he's trying to catch me going back on what I said in our meeting the other day. Anyway, it just wasn't a good time to take a call. I hope it wasn't a time sensitive conversation… You didn't leave a message."

"Well, to be honest, I was kind of glad to put it off…"

"What are you avoiding Huntzberger?"

He hesitated… "I have to head up to Portland tomorrow, and from the sound of things It's looking like I might not make it back Sunday."

" _Really_? That's great!"

"Not _exactly_ the reaction I was expecting…"

I laughed when I realized how it sounded, " _No_! That's not what I meant; _of course_ I want you to come home, but… I was actually calling you to tell you that I'm not going to be here on Sunday either."

"Oh no?"

"I will be in Boston."

"Boston? What is so important in Boston that you were going to ditch me?"

"Well you're not going to be here anyway, so I'm technically not ditching you. But are you ready for the big news?"

"I'm waiting with baited breath…"

I spoke slowly and deliberately to let it sink in as I said it, "Paris and Doyle are getting married."

" _I'm sorry_ … Did you just say that Paris and Doyle are getting _married_?"

"I know. It's crazy… and I'm the Maid of Honor."

"Well you should be. Don't you hold the record for putting up with her the longest?"

"Yes, I believe I do hold that distinction, if you don't count Nanny anyway. But, an unprecedented event such as this can't be missed, which is why I wasn't so devastated by _your_ news. Sorry if I bruised your ego…"

"Hey, far be it for me to get in the way of Paris. And if anything bruised my ego it's not warranting an invitation of my own… Two of my former editors are getting hitched, and they don't invite their _most_ dedicated reporter?"

I laughed out loud at that one. " _Dedicated_ is not how I would describe Logan Huntzberger, Yale Daily News reporter."

"I came through when I needed to… Besides, I couldn't have been _all_ bad, seeing as I've managed to convince _another_ of my former editors to move in with me."

"Huh… Come to think of it, The Daily News _really_ should have come up with some kind of non-fraternization policy."

"And what fun would that have been?"

"Well for one thing, I would have seen a lot less of Doyle walking around in Paris' bathrobe… but I _guess_ you've made your point."

" _So Paris and Doyle are getting married_ … I don't think Edgar Cayce could have seen this coming."

"Well, Paris _"maudlin is her middle name_ " Gellar is finally acquiescing to Doyle's repeated proposals on the grounds that it is tax efficient, among other logical benefits."

"Naturally."

"Of course. What other reason could there be?"

There was a half second pause before he responded, "I can think of at least _one_ …"

From his tone I could imagine the smile on his face when he said it. I was just joking around, but he had taken a sharp turn onto Earnest Avenue. Between the sincere undertone of his comment, and knowing that the engagement ring was sitting in a drawer only a few feet away from me, I was ready to change the subject.

"So… what will be keeping you on the West Coast? Things not going smoothly?"

He sighed, and I had a sneaking suspicion that it was as much to do with my changing the subject as it did with what was going on at work.

"Well, for the most part they are. Internally things are set up and ready to go, the formats we control are stable, investors are on board, but a couple of our clients are not as pleased as we had hoped. Particularly this one paper in Portland, which I really should have seen coming anyway…"

"How so?"

"Well, _I_ pursued _them_ initially; with _maybe_ a little more to my agenda than just helping them widen their market…"

" _Maybe_?"

"My father had failed to acquire the paper several months before…"

"Ah… trying to stick it to Mitchum, huh?" _Of course_.

"I know, I know, it was childish, but _how could I not_?"

"I'll give you that one…"

"They were hesitant given the circumstances, but eventually we landed the account, they have been very successful and it has all worked out…"

"…until now."

" _Right_. They're not exactly thrilled to be ending up in bed with HPG after all of that. Understandably, they're concerned that there will be some bad blood with Mitchum joining our board, so some wooing is in order."

"Well, woo away then…"

"That's the plan… How goes the moving?"

"It's _actually_ going. Mom, Leslie helped me pack up most of my stuff yesterday, and we got the guys to help us unload it last night… I'm doing some unpacking now…"

"Finding space for all of your things?"

"Logan, my whole apartment could fit inside your bathroom."

"I've helped you move before, Ace. I don't know how you do it but you manage to cram three times as much stuff into a small space as any other person could. You're like the David Copperfield of fitting crap into tiny apartments."

"My stuff is not _crap_!"

"I'm _kidding_ , Ace. Take up all the space you want. Go buy another bookcase."

"I don't need another bookcase." _It actually probably wouldn't hurt, but that's not the point._

"Yea, we'll see…" I knew he was laughing at me a little. To his credit, Logan appreciated a good book as much as I did; he just enjoyed giving me a hard time about my reading habits. "I'll call you tomorrow when I land in Portland."

"Fly safe. I love you."

"I love you too. And I miss you like crazy… Don't let Paris talk you into staying in Boston for too long."

"As soon as you're back I'm all yours."

I had that goofy smile on my face again when we hung up. It felt good to be missed.

I checked my watch; it was later than I had realized and I hadn't decided where I was sleeping tonight, but as I looked around at the array of boxes and piles that I had created, I decided tonight was as good a night as any. _This is it_. I finished unpacking the box that I had been in the middle of when Paris called, washed my face and climbed into the big bed. _I officially live here_.

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - As promised, another chapter delivered before the weekend is up... barely! I must say that life has gotten a little crazier than I expected this semester, but I am doing my best to stick to my resolution and keep writing. Getting some feedback from my loyal readers never hurts for motivation! Keep the love coming. I know Paris' wedding is something many of you are looking forward to... soon, very soon! xoxo


	27. Chapter 27: Jake Ryan Found You

The alarm on my phone went off Friday morning and when I sat up I had to let my eyes adjust to the light coming through the two large windows in the room. My apartment had those two windows above my bed, but to say they were small would be generous. Plus, they looked onto an alley between my building and the next, so direct sunlight in the morning was a long forgotten luxury. It was definitely different waking up here, but not quite as abnormal going to bed here alone last night was. I had lain in bed staring at the ceiling for a while before I fell asleep. On some level it all still seemed very surreal.

Naturally, the first thing on my to-do list for the day was to start a pot of coffee. While I waited for it to brew I text my mom, _"Busy Sunday?"_

No immediate response so I took my coffee back upstairs to find something in my stacks of clothes to wear to work. By the time I got out of the shower I had a response, _"Depends on the offer..."_

 _"Paris' wedding."_ I was smiling as I typed it, knowing full well what her reaction would be. I waited _... 3, 2, 1… There it is._ My phone rang.

" _Excuse me?"_

"Yep, Paris and Doyle are getting married."

"Paris? Stick-it-to-the-man, Destiny's Child _Independent Women_ Paris is getting married?"

"Don't worry, she's still the same Paris that we know and… well, _like_ , but she has finally agreed to marry Doyle."

"I'm sorry; I need to go get a coat. The chill from hell freezing over is starting to rise up to the earth's surface."

"I _know_. Entirely unexpected, but she has perfectly rational explanations for it, none of which are actually important right now, especially since I am in the process of getting ready for work, but the gist of it is that I agreed, or more so was assigned to the post of Maid of Honor, and you have garnered a coveted invitation."

"Well I'm honored."

"As you should be. It's Sunday afternoon in Boston. You in?"

"Boston? Road trip… Fun! Of course I'm in."

"Good… I was actually hoping I could come home tomorrow night and we could head up to Boston from there."

"Roger that. What should I wear?"

"I don't know really. She said it's at City Hall, nothing fancy… _Oh_ , do you have anything green?"

"Like St. Patrick's Day?"

"No. She said Doyle's tie is green, so I should wear something green. I think I have a green skirt somewhere, but in my mess of moving stuff I can't find it."

"I'll check when I get home tonight. Hey, I thought Logan was coming back Sunday."

"He's going to be stuck in Portland, apparently there's a bit of a hang up with one of their papers, but at least I won't have to feel guilty about not being here when he gets back."

"Well, yea that's good, I guess. How about your work, are you taking Monday off?"

I made a face even though she couldn't see it. I'd thought about it a little this morning. "I'm not sure yet. I would like to so I don't have to rush back to the city late Sunday night, but things feel a little _tense_ since I told Gerry about the whole thing with Dominic and The Times. I don't know if it's a good idea."

"Is everything okay? You're not going to get into hot water are you?"

"I don't know… I'm keeping up on everything; I'm even ahead on my deadlines and pitches. I guess I just have to see how things are going."

"Alright kid. Good luck."

"Thanks Mom. And let me know if you have anything green."

"Will do. Love you!"

"You too."

I took a deep breath thinking about the whole work situation. I had to get work done on the Obama article for Dominic; I would really like to get him a draft today actually, but the amount of work I could get done on it would really depend on how closely Gerry was watching me.

I met Leslie for coffee and filled her in on my updated plans for the weekend. I had told her enough about Paris for her to be amused by the news, but it was hard to appreciate unless you've actually spent any time with her.

I didn't see Gerry when we got up to the office, so I took it as a chance to get right to work on my Times piece. I'd gone through the research, and already being pretty familiar with his platform made it easier to get an outline going. I wanted to stay pretty neutral, a good journalist has to; _hard facts, deliver the information, don't let personal opinions cloud the bearing of the article._

By the time lunch rolled around, I still hadn't seen Gerry, so I started to relax. _Maybe his close watching really had all been in my head_. I decided I needed to have all of my bases covered before I went in to ask for Monday off, so I finally made a decision for my next pitch before I stopped by his office. I really hope this goes smoothly… I have vacation days after all, I'm just a little afraid that the timing could be suspicious.

Sherry wasn't at her desk, so I walked to his open door and knocked on the doorframe. "Gerry?"

He looked up from his desk, "Gilmore?"

"I want to talk to you about taking Monday off. I'm going to be out of town, unless I really…"

"You know we have a pitch meeting Monday."

"I know. And I already have the last instalment of my series promised to you for next week, plus I want to start working on a piece about the rumors around the WikiLeaks investigation…" I flowed right from one into the next, maybe a little too eagerly.

"WikiLeaks?"

"Yea, the military is going to file new charges against Bradly Manning…"

"I know." He exhaled and sat back in his chair. "I just don't know if that's going to be the right story for you."

 _What_? "With all due respect, why wouldn't you think it's right for me?"

"Well, it's a big story and an ongoing one…"

"I understand that. I…"

He cut me off, apparently uninterested in whatever my argument was. "It's going to take a lot of coverage, and I want someone on it who's going to be fully committed."

 _Oh no_. "I _am_ committed. I know it's a big story, that's _why_ I want to report on it."

"I just think someone who is less… _distracted_ would be more capable of the coverage we're looking for."

 _Distracted? I am not distracted. This is not good; he's supposed to be playing ball to keep me here._ "I'm not distracted. I am so focused. If I were a telescope you could see Neptune through me . And you gave me my choice of leads before…"

He looked at me and nodded. He _had_ given me my choice. "Alright. I'll give you a shot with it, but it's got to be up to par."

"It will be. In fact, it will be a birdie." _Did I just make a sports reference?_

"I'll look forward to it then."

I was hesitant to push my luck, but it was what I had come in here for, "And Monday?"

"Monday?"

 _Had he been paying attention at all to the first half of what I asked him?_ "I asked for it off?"

He nodded, remembering now what my point had been. "Take it. But I need a draft of you last instalment in my box on Tuesday."

" _Tuesday_?" _My deadline isn't until Thursday_.

"Yea, if you're taking on WikiLeaks I want you to get on it, so let's get this series out of the way…" He looked me in the eye. "You can handle it, right?"

 _He was testing me_. It wasn't about getting the series done and moving on; it was about taking time away from the freelance work he knew I was doing. I had chosen to do this; I had to make it work. " _Right_."

 _Crap._ Three articles, Paris' wedding, moving… _how did I suddenly become so overwhelmed with stuff_? I had to get the space shuttle work closed out this weekend, and Gerry was obviously going to be expecting something on WikiLeaks soon, plus I was expecting to hear from Dominic any minute wondering why I hadn't gotten anything to him. _Come on, Rory. Get organized_.

The majority of my last series piece was fleshing out information I already had, plus incorporating that interview from yesterday. I could do that tomorrow. If I work late today, I might be able to get Dominic a draft on the Obama piece. When I get home Monday I can focus on pulling facts on the new story. And unpacking… well unpacking would have to wait.

Logan called late in the afternoon to let me know he landed in Portland, "Hey Ace."

I was more glad than usual to hear his voice. This had turned out to be a way more stressful day than I had planned for, and apparently I lacked the ability to hide it from my voice, "Hi…"

"Uh, oh. What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You sound distracted; what's up?"

"Um, just work stuff… Turns out Gerry is more interested in keeping me from my freelance work than he is in competing with it."

" _Ah_ … what's he throwing at you?"

"Moving up deadlines, questioning whether I can _handle_ working on my next pitch."

"Which is?"

"The WikiLeaks indictment."

He paused, "Well, it is a big story…"

" _Logan_! You're supposed to be on my side. That's how this whole relationship thing works, remember?"

"I _am_ on your side."

"The whole reason I pitched it was because I thought it would look good to Gerry and keep him happy now that he knows I have other plans… You don't think I can do it?"

"Hey, hey that is _not_ what I said. I know you _can_ do it, but are you sure you want to?"

"I think I have to… It's just going to be a long weekend. Probably a long week, actually... I took Monday off since I'll be coming back from Boston, and that certainly didn't help my standing with Gerry. It's like he's taking this personally."

"Well, you'll get through it, Ace. And as far as Gerry goes, if you were showing interest in leaving me for someone else, I'd take it personally too."

I rolled my eyes. " _Logan_ …"

"Rory, relax… at least a _little_. Don't worry about Gerry's feelings; just take care of what you have to get done. Make it through the weekend. I'm sorry I can't be there for you…"

"Don't be." I sighed. "I'm sorry I'm unloading all of this on you when you've got your own stuff to deal with this weekend."

"Hey, that's how this whole relationship thing works, _remember_?"

That got a little smile out of me. " _Right_ … So what's on slate for your predicament? More wooing to do?"

"Definitely more wooing; coffee, take them out for drinks… see if we can sort things out the easy way before we decide a major sit down is in order."

"And if it is? I mean, what happens if you can't sort things out?"

"Hopefully it won't come to that, but potentially we lose them as a client. Definitely something we want to avoid. They're a successful paper with high local print circulation, and expanding online readership, which is really what matters to us. Worst case scenario we end up in arbitration and settle out of our contract, which would be a loss for us, but in the big picture of the merger it would be a hit we'd have to take."

" _Yikes_. And you let me go on about having a busy weekend?"

"Well, I knew going into business with HPG would raise the stakes, so we have to make things work, sometimes that means making tough calls."

"Look at you, all serious business man-y, tackling the industry."

"Hey, _somebody_ started the rumor that I knew what I was doing, so I have to keep up appearances…"

"I'd say you're doing a pretty decent job."

"Good to know."

It was one of those moments where it hit me, just how successful he had become, "Hey Logan…"

"Yea, Ace?"

"I'm really proud of you…"

He didn't answer right away, but I think he had a smile on his face, "Hey, I'm booked on a flight home Monday night, hopefully we'll have something to celebrate when we make this deal work."

"Sounds good… I love you."

"Love you too… Hey, don't work too hard."

"Too late."

Working late turned out to be an understatement. Leslie, being the angel that she is came back to the office bring me dinner after she had already left for the day, and I didn't leave until almost ten, but I _finally_ got at least the beginnings of a solid article emailed to Dominic.

I showered when I got home and set an early alarm before I fell into bed. By seven Saturday morning I had poured myself a very large cup of coffee and taken over the dining room table with everything I needed to piece together my article.

I got a couple of updates from Logan during the day about their meetings… minimal progress, but no major clouds on the horizon. I, on the other hand, was actually making decent progress, and was in a pretty good mood considering my minor episode yesterday. At least I _was_ in a good mood until I heard from Dominic.

"Hey, I got your piece."

"What do you think?"

"I think it's good."

He didn't sound impressed. "Good?"

"It's good… But good's not enough; not if you really want to make a name for yourself over there."

I was suddenly feeling very defeated. I had put in a _lot_ of work yesterday, but I guess that on some level I had to know it was a little rushed. "So what now?"

"Well, to be honest, I wish you'd gotten it to me earlier in the week. It's got potential, but at this point there's no way we can get it to them before final copy for a shot at Sunday. I'll send you my notes; give it some work and get it back to me ASAP."

"Right… will do." I had no objection to putting more work into the article; I definitely didn't want to send anything sub-par to The Times; it was the _as-soon-as-possible_ part that was going to be a challenge.

Before I got too worked up I stood up from the table to refill my coffee cup and clear my head a little. _I just need to readjust my schedule_. If I leave early tomorrow I could get to Stars Hollow in enough time to meet up with Mom and still get to Boston on time. That way I can work tonight, and if I really need to I can have Mom make the drive from Stars Hollow so I can get some editing done in the car.

I called my mom, "Change of plans…"

"Did Paris get cold feet?"

"No… in fact, from what I could tell, she's handing all of this very clinically, so cold feet probably aren't such of an issue."

"Maybe they'll get married in the basement of City Hall..."

" _Creepy_ … Anyway, my change of plans is that I won't be home tonight. I'm going to have to leave early tomorrow and meet you probably just in time for us to leave."

"Aw bummer, I was ready for a sleepover tonight…"

"I know… me too, but things have gotten ridiculously crazy at work…"

"Things not going according to your master plan?"

"I'm just juggling a lot, and I have several things that _need_ to get done right away."

" _Fine_ ; be responsible…"

"Speaking of being responsible, you never called me back about finding something for me to wear."

"You know now that you mention it, I had several things that _needed_ to get done right away."

" _Mom_."

" _Sorry_ , but a mother never quite gets over no longer being a priority in her only daughter's life… but yes, I found a dress."

"This dress isn't going to reflect the grudge you seem to be harboring against me at the moment, is it?"

"No, it's a pretty great dress actually. I bought it before I was pregnant with Landon, but never wore it, and… well, let's just say that my body didn't quite bounce back from having a baby the way it did when I was sixteen, so it's been sitting in the back of my closet ever since."

"Mom, you look great."

" _True_ ; but I look great in the right clothes. This is a little…"

 _I don't like the sound of that_. "A little _what_? Should I just go buy a dress?"

" _No_ … You might want to wear a sweater with it for the ceremony, but it will be fine."

I was definitely skeptical. My mother had style, but our taste in fashion were not necessarily always in synch. "Promise?"

"Promise. You'll look great. What time are we supposed to be there?"

"Well the wedding is supposed to start at three, so probably at least by two just to be safe. I'll be at your place by…" I calculated the travel time in my head. "11:30? That way I will have time to change, but we'll have to hit the road pretty quick."

"Deal."

"And you're sure this _great_ dress of yours is going to be appropriate."

"Yes… I think so. Besides, s _omebody_ needs to wear this dress."

 _Good Lord_. I was definitely looking for that green skirt tonight. I still had some major work to do today, so I got back to it. By the time I went upstairs I was basically a zombie, but I half-heartedly rummaged through a few piles of clothes. _Great_. _No green skirt._

I woke up Sunday morning thinking about the planned events for the day. _I still can't believe Paris is getting married._

I sat down at the counter with a freshly brewed cup of coffee and flipped through The Sunday Times, but knowing that my article _wasn't_ in it took away from what was normally a pretty relaxing ritual. I had put in some work on it last night, but I was going to have to go through the rest of Dominic's notes in the car later.

Pretty quickly,I decided it wasn't worth torturing myself and headed upstairs to get ready. I still wasn't sold on the dress Mom was so eager for me to wear, so I took one more attempt at finding that green skirt, but it was to no avail. I vaguely remember Leslie borrowing it at one point, so in a last ditch effort I sent her a text asking if she still had it.

"At the dry cleaners. Why?"

 _Crap_. In Lorelai we trust, I guess. After telling her I wanted it for the wedding, and then having to explain that a skirt was good enough for Paris' city hall ceremony, I took a quick shower and got my hair and makeup taken care of. I picked a couple of sweaters and pairs of shoes, figuring I would decide what to wear when I saw the dress, then pulled on some jeans and hit the road.

I pulled into the driveway at my Mom's just before 11:30, but was surprised to see that her Jeep wasn't there. I was happy, however, to be greeted on the porch by Landon and Paul Anka.

"Rory!"

"Hey Bud! How's it going?"

He began to regale me with the details of the latest encounter between Paul Anka and Babette's new cat, some of which had been exaggerated by his two year old perspective.

I picked him up while he continued his story and went inside to find Luke in the kitchen.

"Hi Luke!"

"Hey Rory. You're here early..."

I checked the Betty Boop clock above the sink, which had been a Christmas gift from Sookie last year; It was 11:29. _Well I guess I should take credit for being early where I can get it._

"Yea, I made good time coming up. Is Mom here? We're supposed to..."

"Wilmaaa, I'm home." Her unmistakable voice rang from the entry way.

Luke and I looked at each other, shaking our heads. "Never mind."

She came bustling in carrying a dry cleaning bag, two shoe boxes, and a pastry box.

"Rory! You're here? But it's…" She checked the clock, "11:30."

" _Exactly_. 11:30. As in the exact time I said I would be here."

"Right, but when you _say_ you're going to be here at 11:30, that _usually_ means you'll be here closer to 12:00..."

"I am not _that_ bad."

"Fine, but I won't be held at fault for assuming that I'd have more time."

"You know what they say about assuming…"

" _Hey_!"

"What is all of this, anyway?"

"Well, I went to pick up _my_ dress from the dry cleaners, but they didn't open until 10:00. I could have _sworn_ they opened at 9:00 on Sundays, but..."

"We can discuss the dry cleaning conspiracy later since it looks like you got your dress... What about mine?"

"Oh it's on your bed..."

"Thank you." I stood up and put Landon down, about to head to my room.

"You don't want to know about the rest of my morning?"

I glared at her, but she was practically begging for me to ask. She seemed to be ready except for getting dressed, which couldn't take that long, so I comprised.

"Okay... But I want the abridged version."

"So I get to the dry cleaner and first I think they must have forgotten to turn the sign..."

"I said abridged, woman! I'm talking Cliff's Notes... We've got places to be."

She looked disappointed but took a deep breath, "Cleaners wasn't open, walked down to Weston's to get doughnuts for the road, come back and, _lucky me_ , the shoe store is open and _double_ lucky me, the shoes I tried on last week but didn't buy were on _sale_ , so I pretty much _had_ to buy them..."

I waited to see if she was finished, and then Luke put his foot in his mouth "What, did they pack one shoe in each box?"

"Two shoes, two boxes."

Everybody looked at Landon, and I had to give him credit, "Smart kid..."

"Somebody in this house has to be." I could always count on Luke for an excellent dose of sarcasm.

"No, no silly boys... Four shoes, two boxes. Rory understands, right?"

"Ah yes, the ManoloAlgorithm, otherwise known as counting in pairs."

"I thought that was the Louboutin Theorem **?"**

"A common misunderstanding. The Louboutin Theorem involves the exponential effect that the color of the sole has on the cost of the shoe."

Luke had had enough of this bit, "So what you're saying is that you bought two pairs of shoes."

"In layman's terms, yes."

"But you only have two feet. You can only wear _one_ pair at a time. You have more shoes than anyone I've ever met."

"Really Luke? I _think_ you've met my mother... About yay tall, shrill voice, special skills include petrifying maids and verbally abusing family and sworn enemies alike…"

"She's right. Grandma has quite the shoe collection."

"Besides, they were both on sale, so it's _like_ I only bought one."

"Whatever; just don't expect me to dig you out when that shelf collapses on you."

"Alas, I will have to wait for Sir Lancelot to come to my rescue…"

"Alright, Guinevere, we have to get ready and get out of here."

"Alas, thou doth rusheth me soeth…"

"Really nailed the Old English there, Mom. Now go get dressed!"

With a dramatic sigh, she finally headed upstairs, so I went into my room to find a garment bag on the bed. I hung it on my closet door and unzipped it. The dress really wasn't bad… satiny green with a V-neck. The tiny straps were a _little_ questionable for a wedding, but that's what the… _Oh My God._

" _Mom_!"

I had taken the dress out of the bag and held it up to find that it was pretty much backless. Not scandalously so, but more than I would have ever picked for myself, and certainly not for an afternoon wedding.

" _What_?" I heard her come back down the stairs. "You're rushing me to get dressed and now you call me back down here…"

"I can't wear this."

"Why not? It's a gorgeous dress…"

"I know, but it has no back."

"It does so." I turned it around to showcase the back, open to what would be about the middle of my spine, except for the two straps that crossed through the middle. She was unfazed. "That's what the sweater is for. Just put it on…"

I reluctantly slid on the dress.

"See, it looks _amazing_."

It did fit me well, but I was a long way from comfortable. "Next time I ask you for a favor, I'm going to ask for photos."

I picked out one of the sweaters I had brought, which mostly helped with the open back situation, and picked out a pair of shoes that matched pretty well. The weather wasn't warm exactly, but for late February the weather had been cooperating pretty well during the day at least, so I wasn't too worried about needing a coat.

Without too much ado we were finally on our way, road doughnuts and all. I got plenty of grief from Mom about working on our 'road trip', but it had to be done. We were only slightly behind schedule when we pulled up to City Hall, but still plenty early for the ceremony.

We had barely walked in when out of nowhere I felt Paris' hands grip my arm. " _Finally_!"

"You said 3:00." _She's lucky we're this early_.

"Whatever." She turned momentarily to my mother, "Hi Lorelei. Thank you for coming."

"Of course, Paris; I wouldn't…" In true Paris fashion, she hadn't listened at all. Before Mom could even finish her sentence, Paris had dragged me away and into a bathroom down the hall.

"Why am I doing this?" She was pacing rather frantically.

"Dragging me into the bathroom? I don't know."

" _No_. Why am I getting married?"

"I believe for tax purposes."

"That's stupid."

"Hey, that's what I was told."

"You're my Maid of Honor; you're supposed to be keeping me calm."

I was a little stunned by this manic attitude, given her calm state on the phone, but I did my best to get up to speed. "Well, it would help to know what has caused this panic…"

"His _whole_ family is here. Parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins…"

"Well, they are Doyle's family. Aren't they _supposed_ to be here?"

"Yes, but they're all gushing over the fact that we're _finally_ getting married, and how exciting it is, and does this mean we're going to start popping out kids, and I'm starting to feel like Yentle."

" _Yentle_? Because you want dress like a man and study the Torah?"

"No, Rory I don't want to dress like a man and study the Torah. I feel like I got myself into this situation and now I'm totally screwed. I should never have fired Terrance."

 _This situation is not remotely like Yentle, but I'm going to let that one slide for now because she is pretty much losing it._ "You don't need Terrance, Paris."

"No, you're right. I need a Xanax." She reached for her bag that was sitting on the counter.

"No, you don't need a Xanax, either. Breathe, Paris. Take this one step at a time…" I put my hands on her shoulders and held tight until she actually took a deep breath. "Okay, so you're feeling pressured by all the excitement… It's natural for families to be excited about weddings. It's a big event, but on the upside, its only for a few hours. You'll make it."

She nodded tentatively.

"And despite what they want to say about it, you and Doyle are the only ones that make the call on procreation…"

She had been a complete stress case since we walked in, but now that she was standing still I had a chance to look at her. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, with no makeup and her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head. "…Paris, is that what you're wearing?"

" _What_?" She was clearly still a little worked up. "No… My dress is in there." She motioned to the stall.

"Okay, well, maybe if we get you ready, you'll be feeling more festive…"

"I don't want to feel festive. I want to be in control, and those people are making a big deal out of this."

I looked her in the eye. _She was actually nervous_. "Paris, this doesn't have to be a big deal if you don't want it to be. You've pretty much got the simplest ceremony you could manage without running to Atlantic City… And if you _really_ don't want to go through with it, my mom's car is in the parking lot."

She gave a halfhearted smile.

"Come on, you were so matter of fact about this on the phone. What's really wrong here?"

She took a deep breath and finally relaxed a little. "I just… I don't want this to mess us up. Marriage messes people up, and Doyle and I work together. I don't know why, but for whatever reason, we do. Besides you, he is the only person who has ever really gotten me, and I don't want to screw it up."

Paris was actually having feelings. _How sweet_. "Paris, you are not going to screw it up. If Doyle has stuck it out this long, he's not going anywhere. Think about it. You've _tried_ to run him off before, and it didn't work."

She shrugged, "That's true…"

"Right. So why would you think that he would leave on his own now? And if he ever tried to, that would make him an idiot… plus you could always go Krav Maga on his ass and keep him locked up in a closet or something."

"Also true…" She took another deep breath. "…Okay. Let's do this."

"Okay!" She pulled a brush out of her bag and undid her hair. I took off my sweater to keep my sleeves out of the way while I helped with her make up.

"Rory?"

"Yes, Paris?"

"Do you know that your dress doesn't have a back?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Paris."

After getting her into a simple, but beautiful cream colored dress, and promising to keep my sweater on for the ceremony, we found ourselves standing outside the courtroom chambers. My mom was waiting for us.

"Paris, you look wonderful."

"Thank you. And thanks again for coming, Lorelai, it means a lot."

"Of course… Now I know you don't really believe in all of this wedding stuff, but I thought you should have your cosmic bases covered, so… _Oh_ is this a new dress?"

"Yea, I bought it last week."

"Good. So you have Rory, an _old_ friend, a _new_ dress, you're _borrowing_ me since your parents aren't here and now you have something _blue.._." She pulled a necklace out of her purse, which I recognized as piece of Liz's work; it was a blue pendant on a thin beaded chain, not too flashy, very Paris. "…my wedding gift to you."

For a half of a second it looked like Paris might actually cry. "Thank you Lorelai… it's…"

I finished the sentence for her and helped her clasp the necklace, " _Perfect_." I gave Mom a very approving nod.

After a silent moment of female bonding, Paris came back to her level headed self, "Right, well… let's get this show on the road."

"Right…" Mom chuckled a little as she gave each of us a hug and went inside.

I looked at Paris, "Have your nerves abated? You're not going to bolt as soon as I turn around, are you?"

"I don't think so."

"You sure? The offer on my mom's car still stands…"

"I'm sure, and I'm glad you're here."

"Me too… And you and Doyle are going to be great. You're made for each other." I left out the crack I had about being the only two people on the planet who could put up with each other, but I'm pretty sure she knew what I was thinking. Unexpectedly she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. Our friendship always snuck up on me. We had never been best friends in the traditional sense, but we could always count on each other, and I really was happy to be with her today.

"Okay, let's do this."

"Let's do it." I opened the door and made my way down the center aisle of the courtroom, followed by the bride.

I got to the front of the aisle and gave Doyle a nod and a smile. He seemed to relax a little bit; I can only imagine how nervous he had gotten given Paris' mood earlier. The ceremony had nothing superfluous or cheesy. The Justice of the Peace said her bit, they got through their vows about taking care of each other, and pushing each other to be better, they kissed, everyone cheered for them, and it was over. It was short and sweet, just the way Paris wanted.

Everyone followed them back down the aisle and into the lobby. Doyle's parents invited everyone to a restaurant for a reception, and apparently his family likes to party because everyone made their way towards the door almost immediately. Paris and Doyle were towards the back of the pack and walked with Mom and me.

"So, Mrs. McMaster… How does being a married woman feel?"

"Doesn't matter now, she's stuck with me." Doyle had a very accomplished look on his face, but I had to laugh a little when I saw him look at Paris out of the corner of his eye, making sure he hadn't overstepped.

" _Relax_ ; I'm done freaking out about it. But don't start with that Mrs. McMaster stuff.

"Paris isn't changing her name, but don't bring it up to my family. They're too traditional for that."

"They should just be happy we got married at all."

"Hey, shouldn't you be _celebrating_ the wedding with that traditional family of yours?"

"I guess, but I'm going to need a drink if I'm going to spend more than five minutes talking to your sister."

"As your lawfully married husband, I think I can oblige."

The four of us made our way through the doors and found that Doyle's family had not in fact ditched the happy couple, but were waiting for them on the steps outside with more cheers and congratulations. I watched the two of them make their way through the small throng of people towards their car, and I felt Mom elbow me.

"What was that for?"

"Well Samantha, I think Jake Ryan found you…"

" _What_?"

"If only I had a Thompson Twins cassette cued up for this." She nodded toward something across the street.

I looked past the crowd, and sure enough it was Sixteen Candles come to life. Logan was parked across the street, leaning against a red car, a big smile on his face when I saw him. He wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow night… I looked at Mom.

"What are you looking at me for? Go get your panties back."

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - A perfectly Paris wedding, and our Logan showing up in style as always... Someone asked which of Rory's interests I thought would be back for the revival, and I am rather sad to admit that I'm not holding my breath for Logan. I would love to see Rory interact with all of them, _particularly_ Logan, but I read an interview today where ASP said budgetary restrictions were a concern... In my mind that means the rich kid is out, lol. I do think that what has been said about Rory dating the right people at the right time in her life is true, so I'm holding out hope that things will be right. In ASP we trust!

More to come before too long! Keep the follows, favorites and comments coming in the mean time! xxoo


	28. Chapter 28: Old School All the Way

I avoided the mass of people that was Doyle's family by taking the side stairs and headed toward Logan. His smile only grew as I approached him, and before I could say anything he had planted his lips on mine. It took my breath away a little, but when I came up for air I had to ask, "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, grinning, "Crashing a wedding."

" _Logan_..."

"You want me to leave?" Logan mockingly gestured as if he were going to get back in the car.

" _No_. Of course not… but I though you weren't getting back… I thought you had more wooing to do?"

"What can I say? I'm good at what I do…"

"I'll say."

He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me again. Now that he had explained himself, at lease a little bit, I let myself collapse into him.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, Ace."

I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. Showing up like this was definitely an old-Logan move, but it was one of his best.

I glanced back at my mother, who rolled her eyes at us. She mouthed from across the street that she would meet us at the restaurant. Logan and I got into the car and drove in happy silence for a minute or two, but I couldn't stand it.

"I can't believe you're here…"

"I was coming home tomorrow anyway."

"I know, but…"

He smirked and looked at me out of the corner of his eye as he drove. _Classic Logan_.

"So I things are fixed in Portland?"

"For now, yea… As long as Mitchum keeps to himself they should stay fixed."

"Mitchum is the only HPG partner joining your board, right?" He nodded. "So that's _one_ seat. How much trouble could he stir up with one seat?"

He gave me a ' _really_?' look. "This _is_ my father we're talking about. A single board seat wouldn't mean much to any other investor, but for _Mitchum_ , the all-time champion of manipulation… You can't blame them for having concerns."

"But you wooed them?"

"Well, if offering their lawyers a preview of the merger contracts so they can see that there is still a divide between us and HPG counts as wooing, then yes."

"Good… For the record, contracts do not woo _me_." I looked at him incredulously.

He laughed, "Yea, I think we established that one already… Do you know where we're going?"

"Um… not really. I had the address in the car, so I'm hoping Mom figured it out…" We were following behind her yellow Jeep. "By the way, what's with the car?" It was definitely his _type_ of car, but not his Porsche.

"I flew straight into Boston this morning, so I rented it at the airport. And…" He glanced at me hesitantly, "I thought that _maybe_ , since you took tomorrow off of work I could talk you into staying the night here and driving home with me tomorrow…"

I loved the idea of it, but really all I could think about was the work I had to do. He could see the wheels in my head turning.

"Come on, Ace… I'm going to go out on a pretty sturdy limb here and guess that you haven't stopped working since we got off the phone yesterday."

There was no use in denying it. " _So_?"

"So, take the night off. We're going to the reception anyway, what's the difference if you we drive home tonight or stay here and drive home tomorrow?"

He was laying it on thick. "I don't know…"

He took the chance, "Good. It's settled then."

"Fine, but I'm bringing my laptop."

His expression went from triumphant to utterly deflated in about a second flat. "You're killing me, Ace… I haven't seen you in a week; a week that we have both spent working. I'm asking for _one_ work-free night. "

"How about one night with _minimal_ work?"

"Are you trying to negotiate on a night that I have plans for?"

"You have _plans_?" _Intriguing_.

A sly smile spread across his face as we pulled into a parking lot behind my mom, "I _might_."

Life is never boring with this guy. " _How_ do you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Pull off stuff like this? You hopped a flight this morning and already have plans made for tonight?"

All I got in response was a wink before he got out of the car and came around to open my door. I stood up, but was still holding out for an answer.

But he just smiled and shook his head. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you…" He pulled me in closer and plant a very convincing kiss on my lips, "…and then I'd be left with no one to surprise."

"That's really quite a conundrum you've got there..."

"It's only a _problem_ if you keep trying to ruin the surprises."

It was hard to fight that argument, so I settled for another kiss.

With a look that was indicative of the satisfaction he felt coming out on top of that battle, he put an arm around my shoulders and turned me towards the restaurant, "Come on, let's go see how pissed Paris is going to be when I show up inside."

Mom had walked up just in time to hear that last comment and took the liberty of adding, "Dead man walking."

The McMasters had rented the banquet room on the second floor of a nice restaurant downtown, and were all already inside and mingling when we walked in.

" _Well_ , I guess we should have hired some security." In true Paris fashion, she had appeared out of nowhere at our side.

Logan couldn't hold back a smile. He had always taken some perverse pleasure in antagonizing her. " _Paris_! I'm _so_ sorry I missed the ceremony. I'm sure it was _lovely_."

"Funny, I don't remember sending you an invitation."

"Did you really expect me to miss out on a chance to give you and Doyle my congratulations?"

She gave a slightly irritated smile, "A girl can only dream… _Rory_?" She clearly meant that she wanted to have a word with me, so I followed her and glanced back to Logan who was having way too much fun with this.

"Paris, I swear I did not know he was coming. He was supposed to be in Portland until tomorrow, but he showed up outside City Hall, all Jake Ryan style."

"Well wouldn't John Hughes be proud?"

"Actually, I think he would." She glared at me. "Oh come on Paris, he's genuinely happy for you guys. He was very impressed that Doyle stuck it out long enough for you to come to your senses and make it official."

"I'm still not sold on you two being together again."

"I _know_. You've made your feelings on him _very_ clear on multiple occasions, but I told you, he's not the same as he was in college. Look…" I turned her around to see Logan and my mom making semi-comfortable small talk. "…even my mom is giving him a chance."

She was still hesitant, "Alright… but I'm telling you right now that if you end up needing a drunken night of wallowing, you're going to have to come to Boston. I don't have time to come to you."

 _Oh Paris._ I had no reason to believe that I would need such a night, but it was a start. " _Deal_. Will you play nice now?"

She nodded, "I've got about twenty more of Doyle's cousins to thank for coming, anyway…"

"By all means, make the rounds." I met up with Mom and Logan on their way to the bar.

"So am I off the chopping block?"

"Well, she's not vying for presidency of the Logan fan club, but I think you'll live."

Logan accepted the compromise and turned to the bar tender, "Scotch neat and two martinis."

Mom was dramatic about her impression, "You've got a good one here, Ror."

"Yea, he's _alright_."

He turned back to us with our drinks, "Good to know I'm so appreciated."

" _Logan_?"

A mischievous smile spread across his face when he heard Doyle's shocked tone. "Doyle!" As Logan turned back to shake his hand I could see a surprised, almost scared look on his face, and I had to bite my lip to hold back a smile. "Congratulations, Man!"

"Uh… thanks. What are…?" He dropped his voice to a whisper, " _Does Paris know you're here_?" Doyle actually looked at me for this one, so I nodded to reassure him. He breathed a sigh of relief, presumably because that meant he wouldn't have to be the one to break the news to her.

"Well, then thanks for coming…" He took to drinks, one of which I'm sure was promised to his new wife, and walked away from the bar.

"Well, that was a warmer welcome than Paris gave…"

"Yea, well, _Paris_ has never been afraid of you."

"No, but _I_ have on occasion feared for my well-being around her."

Mom chimed in to the conversation, "Haven't we all?"

We grabbed seats at one of the tables on the perimeter of the room.

After dinner, Doyle's sister got up to make a toast, and I had to hold back a laugh when I saw that Paris was making no effort to be appreciative of the gesture, only faking a smile when it was time to hold up her glass. She clearly hadn't had enough to drink to pretend to like her new sister-in-law. It took some persuading, but eventually Doyle got Paris to agree to participate in an official first dance.

She acquiesced to about a minute of the two of them dancing alone before she'd had enough of the ceremony of it all. "Alright, somebody else needs to get out here and dance or this is just silly."

Doyle's parents got up, followed by some of his aunts and uncles. Logan stood up and put his hand out to me. I raised an eyebrow at him.

He smirked, "Bride's orders."

I rolled my eyes, but took his hand. I stood up and dropped my sweater onto my chair, only remembering about my dress when I felt Logan's hand on my back. He leaned in close and whispered in my ear as he took my hand in one of his, and put his other on my waist, "That's a hell of a dress…"

I sighed, almost embarrassed, "Blame my mother."

He raised his eyebrows half-jokingly, " _Blame_ her?" I rolled my eyes at him. "I mean, it's _a little_ weird that I have to give her credit for something like this, but…"

This time I couldn't help but laugh, and he kissed my cheek before raising his head. As we danced I smiled, remembering when we had danced at my grandparents vow renewal, and how I had somehow mustered the courage to confront him about his intentions with me.

He saw the look on my face and inquired, "What's that face for?"

" _Oh nothing…"_

" _Ace_ …"

"Just remembering the first wedding we were at together…"

Logan nodded, remembering equally as well, and then shook his head, "If only I had known what I was getting myself into…"

" _Hey_!" He was really on a roll with goading people this evening.

" _What_? I never would have let you drag me into that dressing room if I had known what was going to happen ten minutes later…"

Thankfully, enough time had passed that I could now laugh about being interrupted not only by my mom, but also by my dad _and_ Luke, both of whom were ready to fight Logan. "Well, I think you're safe tonight. No dressing rooms here…"

He leaned in close again, " _Damn_."

I feigned a scandalized look and he winked.

"So, I never got a real answer… Can we forget about work tonight?"

I sighed, thinking about everything I still had to do. "I have two emails that I _have_ to send tonight." He was already skeptical, but I wasn't finished yet. " _And_ I have to get home and get some research done tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow a _fternoon_."

" _Now_ who's negotiating?"

He shrugged, "I'm going to take as much as I can get."

I shook my head, "This is _your_ fault anyway…"

" _My_ fault?"

I knew it wasn't entirely true, but he deserved some of what he dished out. "Yes. You're the one who talked me into this."

"Oh, _I_ talked you into it? Because I seem to remember you saying yes to this quest for The Times _before_ you and I had even talked about it…" Then he took a _big_ risk in how he chose to drive his point home, "Besides, you do have a history of saying no to me."

I had said no to Logan on multiple occasions for a myriad of reasons, but from his tone and the look on his face I knew that he was referring to one occasion in particular.

I froze. I had _no_ response to that one, but he was struggling to hold back a smile. _I can't believe he was joking about this_. I just stood there, mouth half open with no words coming out.

He was actually laughing as he pulled me in closer to him, uprooting me from where I had become stuck. " _Relax_ , Ace…" He kissed me. "So what do you say, _one_ night of being irresponsible?"

I was about to concede when his phone rang. He tried to ignore it.

" _Logan_ …"

"Nope; I'm being irresponsible."

There was a time when irresponsible was his default, but I could tell that now it was taking a determined effort for him to not take his phone out of his suit pocket. I just smiled at him, knowing it was only a matter of seconds before he gave in.

Sure enough after one more ring he gave a frustrated sigh, "Two minutes, then it's _Old School_ all the way." He kissed me on the cheek before her pulled out his phone and stepped into the hallway.

With no ceremonial cutting, _Paris' decision I'm sure_ , the waiters were delivering slices of cake to the tables, so I went back and sat down next to Mom. I felt bad that I had dragged her here, and now Logan had shown up. "Having fun?"

She tilted her empty martini glass, "Well I'm very happy for Paris, but I'd be having more fun if I didn't have to drive home tonight…"

Another wave of guilt hit me when I realized that I was pretty much abandoning her by letting Logan kidnap me for the evening, and apparently she could read it on my face as I took a bite of cake.

" _And_ , I take it I'm making the drive on my own?"

I gave her an apologetic smile. "Well if you really want the company, you're going to have break it to Logan. _Apparently_ he has plans…"

" _Plans_?"

I put my hands up, "Don't ask me, I have no idea what they are."

"Well, as long as you're not running off to get married."

" _Mom…"_

She gave me a knowing look, "I saw the two of you out there, all lovey-dovey and him whispering in your ear…"

"And what, you have super-tuned hearing senses that let you hear us plotting?"

She almost spit cake out of her mouth hearing my insinuation that we had been talking about getting married.

"I'm _kidding_. We were not talking about getting married… at least not…." I got lost in my head for a second replaying what had happened.

" _Rory_?"

I really hadn't meant to leave her hanging like that, but I was still so surprised by his comfortable attitude towards the whole thing, "He was _joking_ about the proposal."

" _Joking?_ Like, _'Haha remember when I proposed and you turned me down and we didn't speak for years'_ joking?"

"Yea… Well, _no_ not _exactly_ like that, but… Like it doesn't bother him anymore."

She considered it, "Well, that's a good thing, right?"

I thought about my minor panic that day when Les found the ring. "Yea, but…"

" _But_?"

I took another bite of cake and tried to say it as nonchalantly as possible, "He still has the ring."

Her eyes got wide, but she didn't have to say anything.

"I _know_. But he doesn't know that I know. Leslie found it when she was snooping."

"So what does…?"

I saw Logan coming back towards the table so I hurriedly cut off her question, truncating the conversation that we would have to finish later, "I don't know, but…"

He sat down next to me, "But, what?"

 _Quick, new subject_. " _But_ … that was more than two minutes. I get to send my emails."

" _Fine_ …" He turned to my mom, "…Is it alright if I steal her from you?"

She waved her hand to dismiss us, "Take her… this party's getting too wild for me anyway."

The music was picking up and if I knew Paris and Doyle, they were making their way back to the dance floor. Sure enough, they were so I caught up with Paris before they could get too wrapped up in one of their infamous dance routines.

"Hey, I think we're going to take off… Leave you to party with the in-laws." I gestured to the crowd gathering around her new husband.

"Yea, I guess they're tolerable." I smiled, knowing that she was genuinely happy, despite her initial resistance; the last time I saw her smile like that was when Napolitano was appointed Secretary of Homeland Security. She looked over my shoulder at Logan, who was picking up my sweater from the chair. "And you're happy?"

Logan looked up to see both of us looking at him and waved tentatively. His nervousness was rather entertaining. "Yea…"

Placated by my apparent contentment, she gave Logan a nod and then turned back to me, "Well, look at us… who could have guessed all those years ago at Chilton that we'd be standing here at my wedding?"

I answered oh-so-honestly. "Not _me_."

If someone had asked me the day I had started Chilton if I would be anywhere near Paris ten years later, the answer would have been a resounding _no_. Hell, if someone had asked me then if I ever thought Paris would get married, the answer would have been no. But now, after every crazy thing we've been through together, we shared an appreciative smile, thankful for all of it.

"I'm going to be checking up on him."

I nodded, "I know... And you let me know when you and Doyle decide you're going to start popping out kids."

She knew I was kidding, but that didn't stop her from sending a harsh glare my way. Finally we shared another hug, this one much less aggressive than the last, before she met her new family out on the dance floor.

"Wow…" Logan handed me my sweater as we left. "Paris has a heart after all."

"No one ever said she didn't have a heart…" He eyed me skeptically as I pulled it up over my bare shoulders, clearly implying that the opposite was true. "She just prefers to use that oversized brain of hers most of the time."

Logan laughed and put his arm around my waist as we met up with Mom to head downstairs. As we approached the car it occurred to me that everything except for my purse and my work bag were back at my mom's house. " _Crap_."

Logan shook his head immediately, knowing that I was threatening his night again. "Stop…"

"But all my stuff…"

"So?"

" _So_ I don't have…"

"Forget it. _We're going_. We'll get your stuff tomorrow."

I gave him a frustrated look; he countered with a pleading one. _I forgot how exhausting this whole reckless spontaneity thing could be._

Having realized that it had gotten dark since we arrived, I turned to Mom, "You going to be alright driving home?"

She theatrically held out my bag from her car, " _Go_ before I change my mind…"

We said our goodbyes and waited until Mom was safely on the road.

"Okay, come on…" He was pulling me towards the car.

"Logan, where are we going?"

He rolled his eyes, "What part of surprise don't you understand?"

"I have to…"

"Send your emails, I know…" He opened the door for me with that smirk of his splayed across his face, "Let's go."

Only a few minutes later we pulled up in front of the Four Seasons Hotel across the street from Boston Common… _and to think, I was under the impression that his gestures had scaled back._

He checked in at the front desk and handed me the room key, "Go upstairs, and take care of your emails. When I get back, we're done with work."

 _Was he kidding_? " _Logan_ , what are you…?"

He smiled, obviously kvelling about the fact that I was slightly flabbergasted by his antics, "I'll see you in half an hour."

 _Talk about Classic Logan_. "Where are you _going_?"

"You better get upstairs. I'm hiding your laptop when I get back."

I shook my head, "You're crazy."

He smirked and snaked an arm around my waist, "And _you_ love me." He cradled my head with his other hand and kissed me; it was the kind of kiss that almost embarrassed me to share in the _very_ public lobby of a _very_ fancy hotel.

" _Logan_ …"

His smirk only widened, but he didn't give me a chance to protest before he pulled away, heading towards the door. "Thirty minutes, Ace."

I smiled to myself in the elevator on the way up to the room. _What have I gotten myself into?_ I doubt that I will ever be able to _actually_ keep up with him… _At least I will never be bored…_ A thought that was only reinforced when I opened the door to the suite he had booked. _I was right, he's crazy. But he's right about something else, too… I love him._

I wouldn't put it past him to actually confiscate my laptop when he gets back, so I sat down at the desk first thing to give my article one last read through before I sent it to Gerry. As for my Obama article, I had managed to get through most of the notes Dominic had sent back to me in the car on the way to the wedding. I was working on the last couple of them just as Logan opened the door.

"Ace?"

 _Almost done…_ "Hm?"

He walked up, but I kept my focus on my laptop, "Hey, I know that face. You're still working." He tapped his watch, "Time's up."

"Five more minutes."

" _Ace_ …"

I finally looked up and gave him what was my best and pretty much only argument, "It's for The Times."

He collapsed into the chair next to the desk, looking slightly defeated, "Five minutes."

I smiled as I typed… The old Logan would have shut my laptop right then and there, no questions asked, if I had even gotten to bring it at all. Lately, the new Logan has been almost all work. This balance that he seems to have found is very endearing.

With just a few seconds to spare in my five minute extension I sent my latest draft off to Dominic and shut my laptop. Logan had been scrolling through his phone, but when he heard the laptop click closed he put the phone down and extolled dramatically, " _Finally_."

" _Oh hush_. You can't rush greatness."

He raised his eyebrows, "Greatness, huh?"

Admittedly my confidence was a little shaken after the last couple of days. I shrugged, "We'll see…"

He gave me a quick kiss, "Okay… Come on." He really did put my laptop in the drawer of the desk. More impressive than that, he turned off his phone and put it face down on the bedside table. He put out his hand, asking for me to do the same. _He is not messing around about this no-more-work policy_.

" _Alright_ …" I handed him my phone from where it sat on the desk, "So, where are we going?"

Ignoring my question he ushered me into the other room, "Go change."

"Logan, I told you all my stuff is at…"

He handed me a shopping bag and winked, "Don't get me wrong, I _like_ the dress… but it's not quite practical."

" _Practical_? What are we going to be welding or something?"

"Absolutely. Irene Cara is downstairs waiting for us, now come on…"

I shook my head. _He was really brining out his A-game tonight._ I took the bag that he was pushing on me, changed my clothes and met him by the door where he handed me a coat.

" _Logan…_ " This was getting ridiculous.

"I don't want to hear it… It's cold outside."

 _Was he finally letting me in on his master plan?_ "Outside?"

He smiled, but didn't divulge anything else, just led me out the door and down to the lobby. Knowing Logan, I expected that one of the cars at the curb was waiting for us, but instead he grabbed my hand and we crossed the street towards Boston Common.

We took one of the paths that lead into the park and he put his arm around my shoulder as we walked. I'd never had a chance to see The Common before and even in the dark it was nice, but I had to wonder if this was really what his plan was all about.

"So… a walk in the park?"

He looked down at me curiously, but with a smile on his face, "Do you have a _problem_ with a walk in the park?"

" _No_ , I do not have a problem with a walk in the park; In fact, did you know that Boston Common is likely the first public park to be named in a city area? Earlier than ones established in London, even."

He shook his head and laughed, "No, but I'm not at all surprised that _you_ know that." He kissed my head as we continued our stroll. "So the question was really just a lead in to your history lesson?"

"No…"

"Are you _disappointed_ by a walk in the park?"

" _No_ …"

"Then what's with the curiosity?"

" _Nothing_ , just wondering why you made such a big deal about staying in Boston tonight… We do have a very large park at home, you know."

" _Really_? I hadn't heard…"

" _Oh yea_ , apparently it's pretty impressive; long and narrow, and there's something about it being _centrally_ located…" _And about a block and a half from the apartment_.

"Ah, well we'll have to check it out sometime… In the meantime, we are in the middle of a pretty nice park here."

"We are indeed… just out for a casual stroll, _right_?"

That grin gave him away; _I knew he had something else up his sleeve_. He steered me around a bend in the path towards the Frog Pond. As we rounded the corner I saw the carousel lit up about a hundred yards away, and I could vaguely hear the music playing, but there was no one else around.

For a second I thought maybe it was just because it was late and had gotten cold, but it occurred to me that it wasn't even spring yet… _why would the carousel be open at night in the winter?_ And then it hit me… _It's not open._ I looked at Logan.

His smile widened and he took my hand, leading me towards the music.

"Logan, this is _ridiculous_."

"Is it really ridiculous to want to do show my girlfriend how _much_ I missed her this week?"

"Most guys would send their girlfriends a post card… _flowers_ if they're really feeling guilty."

He tilted his head and looked exceptionally pleased with himself, "Am I most guys?"

 _I can't believe that he…_ Well I guess I _can_ believe that he did this, but that doesn't make it any less over the top _._ "How did you even…?"

He shrugged, "I know a guy."

I should have known it was a silly question when I asked it. _He always knows a guy_. I shook my head, but couldn't help but smile, and I let him lead me through what would normally be the cue for the ride.

"You know, _preschool_ is not what I pictured when you said we were going _Old School_ …"

"Are you telling me that you don't think this is fun?"

"No, but you _really_ didn't have to do all of this…"

He smirked, "I know."

 _How could I say no to that face?_ I kissed him… It really was fun to have it to ourselves.

"So, what will it be? He gestured to the array of options for animals to ride, but I took his hand and led him towards the chariot seat.

" _Really_? You were _that_ kid? A whole menagerie to choose from and you pick the bench?"

"No I was not _that_ kid. _Maybe_ I'd just like to sit with some company… unless that's not exciting enough for you?"

He smiled, "No, company's good… Hold on."

I hadn't noticed until now, but as he walked towards the center of the carousel, I realized that there was actually a ride operator sitting in the booth, and he handed Logan a basket.

He came back to sit next to me on the bench and took out a blanket, a thermos, and two mugs. _He really thought this one through, complete with hot coffee._

"Well you really are _full_ of surprises…"

When we had our mugs, and he had laid the blanket across our laps, he waved to the operator who nodded in response and started the ride with the ring of a bell.

"You know this is outrageous, right?"

He shrugged with a grin and kissed me, "Worth abandoning work for the night?"

I couldn't have stopped the smile that spread across my face as I nodded if I wanted to. I leaned into him and rested my head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around me. I breathed in deep, taking in the moment… The crisp air, the familiar scent of his aftershave, the coffee… _It might be outrageous, but I couldn't be happier._

After a few turns around the carousel I was curious, "Is all of this _really_ just to say that you missed me?"

He kissed the top of my head, "Maybe."

"You know I would have been perfectly happy for you to come home and sit like this on the couch…"

" _Anybody_ could come home and do that. Besides…"

I picked my head up to look at him when he paused. His mood had leveled out considerably from his practical giddiness only a few minutes before.

"…I know this week hasn't been easy, and I hate that I wasn't there for you."

I let out a sigh. He shouldn't feel guilty for having his own work to take care of. "Logan, just because you weren't in New York doesn't mean you weren't there for me."

It wasn't enough. He sat up and turned so he was facing me. "Ace, it's not just…"

It occurred to me that he might be thinking about the future as much as he was about the last week. " _Logan…"_

"…I don't want to mess this up, Rory. I need you to know that you are as important… _more_ important to me than work. I don't want to be like my dad and…"

 _Woah_. "You are _not_ like Mitchum."

"Rory, things are going to be crazy for the next few weeks, maybe longer than that with the merger, and I don't want…"

"Logan, this isn't going to work if you're going to feel guilty every time you have to work late or take a business trip. I know how this works; we've done it before. You were in London for practically a _year_ and we made it work…"

"I know, but…"

I kissed him. _He needs to relax_. "I'm not going to feel abandoned. I'll be here…" I reached for my purse and pulled out the keychain he had given me; the rocket. I took it off of the ring and put it in his hand, "…promise."

He finally took a deep breath. "Here..." He took my keys and put the key chain back on the ring, "…I'm going to hold you to that."

"Good."

I was ready to get back into my spot, cuddled up against his chest, and get back to enjoying the night, but he hadn't sat back yet. Instead he was reaching into his pocket, and for a second my breath caught in my chest and I imagined the ring that I was _pretty_ sure was still sitting in his dresser.

I exhaled when I saw that he was only retrieving his wallet. He opened it and pulled out a little slip of paper. His slightly smug smile had returned as he handed it to me, "I've got one more thing for you."

I got excited when I realized what it was; I bit my lip trying to contain my sudden urge to laugh. I had all but forgotten… _His fortune from our 'first date'_. I looked at him, almost in disbelief. He winked and smiled, "You going to open it or what?"

I had been _dying_ to know what had made him become so attached to it. I slowly unfolded the paper and read,

" _Second chances are not presented often. Seize what comes your way."_

I smiled as I remembered the look on his face that night in the restaurant as he folded the paper and slipped it away. I read it again. _He really never doubted that we would make this work._

From the corner of my eye I could see a subtle smile on his lips as he watched me reading, but when I looked into his eyes I could see how deep it was. There were no words necessary. I leaned in and pressed my lips against his.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Ace."

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Ch-ch-ch-changes... Hopefully nobody was too attached to the other fortune, because I was definitely not. One of those things that I was never quite satisfied with, but now... Well, you'll just have to wait and see what it might set up for our favorite smooth talker. ;)  
Love hearing all of your opinions/hopes/excitement about the revival! Between work, school, and trying to take care of myself I have very little free time, but checking my inbox and reading your comments is always a priority. We are getting so close to new material so stay tuned! Follow, favorite and comment, as always! Love to all! xxoo


	29. Chapter 29: Go Hugh Sloan For You

After a few kisses Logan playfully snatched the fortune back from my hands.

" _Hey_!"

He shook his head as he tucked it back in his wallet. "I'm holding on to that… And to you." He pulled me in close and kissed the top of my head as I nestled into his shoulder. _I do like being held onto_. We enjoyed the carousel a while longer before making our way back through the park and to the hotel.

The rest of the night had continued to be bliss-laden, culminating in the best night of sleep I'd had in a week, probably thanks in large part to the company I was keeping.

When I woke up the next morning in Logan's button down shirt, I was _literally_ being held onto. Logan had one arm under the pillow behind my head and the other draped around my waist, and for a minute I just let myself sink into him… _perfect_.

I drifted back to sleep for a little while, waking up to him kissing the top of my barely exposed shoulder, and then my neck, and then my lips as I rolled towards him. "Hey you..."

"Hi…" He kept kissing me, "…what are you up to?"

" _Nothing.._."

"Nothing, huh? It seems like you might…" I happened to catch a glimpse of the clock on the table. _Is that really what time it is?_ I sat up in bed, leaving Logan mid-kiss, remembering that I had reluctantly turned off my phone the night before.

" _Ace_ …"

"It's after _nine_ …"

"And we took today off."

"So…"

He pushed me back into bed, smiling now. " _So_ , you're going to let me kiss you, then we're going to go take a hot shower, and then we'll order some room service before you even _think_ about working."

I eyed him skeptically. I _had_ agreed to take the day off, but I _really_ wanted to check my phone. "Just _once_?"

He rolled his eyes, kissed me and got up to start the shower, " _Once_ , then you're cut off."

I reached over to the nightstand and grabbed my phone. A couple of text messages from Leslie, but nothing else. _Nothing_? I had gotten Gerry my article early, nothing back from him. I had gotten Dominic another draft of that piece, and _nothing_?

I sent Leslie a quick text message to let her know that I had called in for the day and then set my phone down on the counter behind Logan.

"Well?"

"Nothing."

He looked me in the eye very intently, "Relax."

I took a deep breath. "Okay… You're right. Gerry knows I'm not in today, and Dominic has other things to work on. I just need to…"

" _Relax_." I nodded, and he proceeded to kiss me a few more times in an unnecessary effort to convince me to join him in that shower.

Half an hour later we had breakfast spread across the bed and CNN on television when my phone rang. For a second I panicked, unsure of where I had left it, when I remembered it on the bathroom counter.

 _Dominic_. "Hey."

"Gilmore, looks good."

" _Good_? Good is what you said last time."

"Okay, it's better than good. I'm sending it on."

I could see Logan looking at me from the other room, so I nodded. He didn't look surprised in the least.

"Okay, so now what?"

"Well, keep sending me what you've got, but…"

" _But_?"

"You've done a couple of interviews with Obama, right?"

"Yea… one at the Daily News, and a couple while I was on the campaign… nothing exclusive or anything like that, but…" _He can't expect me to have those kinds of contacts anymore. "_ That was _years_ ago."

"I know, but if you've got an in with _anybody_ , it could be big. Having your own contacts could be _huge_ even. I'm not saying you need a direct in with somebody at the White House, but on the hill or close to it even; someone with ties to the top."

 _Ties to the top_? Did he really think I could pull this off? "Dominic, I don't know if…"

"Look, in the meantime get me what you can otherwise; keep the pieces coming, but see what you can do in terms of a contact, alright?"

I hesitated; all of this was very surreal. "Okay; I'll see what I can do."

"Good. Get me something soon, Gilmore."

By the time we finished I was sitting at the table in the other room with my phone in my hand, suddenly exhausted. I had just _finished_ getting pieces off to Dominic and Gerry, and yet again I was overwhelmed. I sat there for another second before I headed back to the bedroom.

I poured myself another cup of coffee from the carafe on the tray and collapsed into the chaise at the end of the bed.

"He's sending it on."

"Good." He paused, waiting for a response, "That's good, _right_?"

"Right." I was less than enthusiastic.

He raised an eyebrow at me, obviously attune to something being amiss. "So… What's wrong?"

"Nothing …" He continued his look of uncertainty. "Dominic wants me to find contacts. Dig up some sources with the _in_ on the campaign."

" _Okay_..."

I sat up on the chaise and looked at him directly, " _Okay_? I haven't had connections like that in _years_. I've been toiling away in the land of features since I got back from the last campaign. I…"

He was trying to hide it, but I could see the look on his face. He was biding his time until he could put his two cents in; I eyed him incredulously.

" _What_?" He got defensive. _Too defensive_ … he definitely had something to say.

"Don't…"

"Don't what? I didn't _say_ anything…"

"I know what you were thinking."

" _Oh you do, do you_?" Now he was the incredulous one.

"Yes."

"And exactly _what_ am I thinking?"

"That you could find someone to go all Hugh Sloan and…"

"I'm not saying _anybody_ is going to go Hugh Sloan for you…"

" _Logan_ …"

"Okay… I was _going_ to say that sometimes it doesn't _hurt_ to know people."

"And _you_ know people?"

" _Probably_..." He was walking a fine line here and he knew it. Things were definitely going to get complicated. I wanted to keep my life at work separate from my personal life, but he could help me get in contact people that would make it so easy. _It was all easy for him._

I shook my head, "No." Maybe I would be okay with it one day, but not now. If I couldn't find contacts on my own, I didn't deserve the job.

"Okay…" He put his hands up, surrendering. "…just throwing it out there."

I decided to change the subject by beginning to pack up our stuff.

" _Really,_ Ace?"

"Sorry mister… back to reality."

He gave me one last pleading look.

"I told you I have research to do… especially if I'm going to start tracking down contacts." He reluctantly consented.

After packing up all of our new belongings, along with our more formal attire from the day before, we were in the elevator, and _someone_ was back to complaining, "Do we _have_ to?"

"You sound like Landon."

He made a pouty face, and I countered with a stern glare.

" _Ugh_. You and your priorities."

"How did you get _anything_ done in the last four years? Obviously _something_ was motivating you, but honestly…"

" _I didn't have you to distract me_." He offered his response in a whispered tone and gave me a deep kiss just as the elevator doors opened to the lobby. _Of course._ I blushed when I saw the group of businessmen, all amused by what they had just been privy to, but Logan just laughed and took my hand as we exited the elevator.

Once the valet had brought the car around and we were on the road and he had finally come to terms with being back on the map. He had let his phone battery die last night - _something I'm sure hasn't happened in months, if not years._ When he finally plugged it in in the car he basically had no choice but to resurface.

In what amounted to less than fifteen hours, Logan had racked up eleven missed calls, multiple text messages and what seemed to be a never ending litany of emails. I looked at him as the notifications came rolling in with an eyebrow raised, "So, _Mr. I-took-the-day-off_ … how's that going for you?"

He rolled his eyes, "To be fair, my assistant is the only one I officially told about not coming in. Plus, we do officially launch next week."

" _Really_?" I guess things were going to be happening fast now…

He nodded, "As of Wednesday we are officially operating out of the East Coast."

"And then?"

"Then…" He took a second and breath; I think still having a hard time believing he was actually going through with this, "Then we go forward with the merger. There has been plenty of speculation since we announced the move, so it's not like it's _actually_ going to surprise anyone, but we have to go through the formalities… Make the announcements, sign the contracts…"

"Finally receive you destiny…"

He rolled his eyes at me, " _Sure_..."

"Sorry… On the bright side you've got a few more days before Mitchum is back from Toronto, right?"

He nodded appreciatively. "I'm sure I will hear from him repeatedly, but he should be gone until Thursday… Hey, by the way, Wednesday night there's going to be a dinner for our partners and investors."

"A _dinner_?"

"Yea... I'm sure there will be some huge thing to launch the merger in a couple of weeks, so it's nothing too big. I might be going out on a limb here, given the Chinese wall that you're so intent on keeping between work and home, but…"

I already made an appearance at one work function, and I knew this day was coming… _the line in the sand between church and state will never be the same_. I nodded, "Sure."

" _Yea_?" He actually looked surprised, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yea… this is your life, Logan. I should meet these people."

"Well, alright then…" He happily accepted my answer with a satisfied smile.

Honestly, I could only imagine what Mitchum had in store for the merger, and this dinner sounds like a good chance to get my feet wet. I knew I couldn't be _with_ Logan _and_ stay on the outskirts of their world; I was going to have to join in eventually.

When we got back to Stars Hollow I knew Mom would be at the Inn with Landon, and Luke would be at the diner, so the plan was to pick up my car, follow Logan to the airport so he could drop off the rental and head back to New York. We _would_ have gotten away scot-free if Logan had stayed in the car, but being the gentleman that he is, he got out of the car to put our stuff in the trunk, and as if an alarm had gone off in her head Babette appeared on her porch.

"Rory!"

 _Oh boy_. "Hey Babette…"

"How's it goin', Sugar?"

"Oh, it's…"

She cut me off in as much of a whisper as she could manage. "Hey…" I followed her gaze as she came down the stairs. She had obviously noticed Logan, but only saw the back of his head from her vantage point, "Who's the hunk?"

Logan turned around just in time to serve as an answer to her question. For a second I thought she might tip over.

"Babette, you remember Logan, right? I think you met a while ago…"

There was another second of stunned silence before she found her raspy voice, "Uh, yea… good to see ya…" She waved at Logan hurriedly as she pulled me to the side of the porch, and with barely a pause between her words she continued, "… _does your mother know_?"

"Does she _know_?"

"About _him_?" She was suddenly very serious, "Oh God, does _Luke_ know?"

I took a deep breath, "Yes, Babette; Mom knows, Luke knows… it's okay."

"It's _okay_?"

I looked at Logan who was standing against the car with his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently for this exchange to play out. I smiled as I nodded, "Yea, its okay."

I think she was simultaneously processing and planning a phone tree in her head as she made her way back onto the porch, "Right… Well, see you round, Sugar."

I nodded as she disappeared inside and I met Logan at the car door. "Well, we've got about five minutes before _all_ of Stars Hollow knows that we're back together…"

He peered down the driveway, "Should I be worried?"

"I don't know if you should be _worried_ , but it might be best to get out of dodge before word hits the street."

He laughed, "Fair enough."

We got in our respective cars and headed for the airport. Logan must have given in and answered at least one of those phone calls because when he pulled into a parking spot he was fully engrossed in conversation… one that seemed to be escalating. That could only mean one thing… _Mitchum_.

I wasn't sure how long it was going to take so rather than wait in aisle, I pulled into a spot and decided to scroll through the few emails that I had accumulated that morning. I was about to open one from Gerry when Logan opened the passenger door and collapsed into the seat.

"Wild guess… Mitchum?"

"Yep."

"Do I want to know?"

"That depends… How much are you going to hate going to a Benefit?"

" _A Benefit_? Like a fundraiser?" It didn't sound like I was going to have much choice in the matter which meant…

"Yea… _Apparently_ welcoming the youngest generation of Huntzberger into the family business is the perfect opportunity to support the Journalists of Tomorrow."

" _The Journalists of Tomorrow_?"

"Yes... not only are we _celebrating_ the merger…" _I detected more than a hint of sarcasm on the word celebrating_ , "… we are hosting an event to support journalism in inner-city high schools."

I was trying really hard to find a silver lining here, "Well… at least it's a good cause?"

He glared at me; he was clearly not happy about this. "It's next Friday."

 _What_? " _Next Friday_? Like _eleven days_ from now?"

He nodded.

"How are they going to sell…" From the look on his face I could tell that something else was coming.

"Trust me, eleven days is plenty of time for people to open up their checkbooks and kiss my father's ass, but they've had _more_ than eleven days."

"But…"

"My mother, chairperson of the newly formed Huntzberger Foundation, has set this up."

"Your _mother_?" _Wait… newly formed? Oh no_. "How _newly formed_ is the Huntzberger Foundation?"

"Well… she called, what? Like a week and a half ago?"

 _This was about me?_ I mean, not entirely, but this was Shira throwing the gauntlet; trying to make it known that I don't belong in their world. I ran my hands down my face. This is not going to be pretty.

"I guess this was coming eventually…"

" _This_ was coming?"

"Well, not _this_ in particular, but _something_ was coming." He was looking at me sympathetically, but I didn't need it. The more I thought about it the more resolve I got. "Shira was never going to let us off easily. _She_ didn't sign some contract to play nice, but that's fine by me."

"It is?" He had that look again; the one he wore when I surprised him.

" _Yes_."

I drove the rest of the way home, determined to stick it to Shira. It was only after we got inside that I realized I had about a million things to do before I could take on that battle. Even still, she had earned herself a spot on my list of priorities.

Not only did I have a ton of work to do, but I had also left most of my things in boxes around the apartment.

"Looks good, Ace…"

" _Funny_."

"I'm serious… we should get rid of the rest of the furniture. Just keep the boxes."

" _Come on…"_

" _What_? It could be cool. We could constantly rearrange it, or it could be like a fort!"

I rolled my eyes as I put my stuff down on the table, "I _know_ , okay. I've just had a lot going on…"

Logan flashed one of his trademark smirks and gestured for me to come towards him with the tilt of his head. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me in close; I was having a hard time trying to keep a straight face. "I love you."

 _No use hiding it now_. I let my lips curl into a smile, "I love you too."

He cradled my head in his hands and kissed me. I was just about to lean in for another kiss when he let his hands fall and walked away from me toward the kitchen. " _Hey_!"

" _You know_ , you should really get your act together. Don't you have work to do?"

I came around the corner to see him smiling at me, and starting a pot of coffee. _The man knows me well_.

The rest of the afternoon and most of the evening was spent pretty much buried in research. I was starting from square one on this WikiLeaks article and as the night wore on had all but taken over the dining room table with my laptop and notes.

Logan had resigned himself to returning phone calls and replying to emails, but late in the evening I was happily surprised by the arrival of takeout he had apparently ordered. After a couple more hours of research, he'd had enough, "Hey, Judith Miller, you planning on coming to bed anytime soon?"

"Huh?" I looked at the clock; it was quarter to twelve. I'd gotten quite a bit of research done… _not as much as I'd like_ , but it was a start. "Yea, I guess I could call it a night."

"It's about time… It _is_ the first night we're officially living together."

I gave him a look that read ' _Really_?' We had lived together before, and we had spent more than a couple of nights together since we'd been reunited, but I appreciated that he was enthusiastic about it. I shut my laptop and followed him upstairs.

By the time my alarm went off Tuesday morning Logan was already dressed and flipping through the paper downstairs. "You make a big deal about us officially living together, and I'm still waking up alone?"

"I _know_ ; I'm sorry, but I've got to run…" I watched him as he poured himself a cup of coffee to go and packed up his briefcase, "We're meeting with a group of investors interested in post-merger acquisitions and... what?"

I realized that I was smiling as I watched him. It still amused me how he had matured so much. It _had_ been four years, but sometimes because we had been apart it seems like it happened over night.

" _Nothing_ … go take over the world…" I mockingly waved him towards the door and went to pour myself a cup of coffee.

"I'll try." He leaned in from behind with a smile and planted a kiss on my lips, "Love you."

"Love you, too." Realizing that I had plenty to get done today myself, I collected my research from the night before while I drank my coffee and after a quick shower I was on my way to work.

Leslie was waiting at the coffee cart when I walked up, "Hey how was the wedding?"

"It was nice. Paris was… Paris, but she's happy, Doyle's happy. A good day all around."

" _And_?"

"And what?"

"Oh I don't know… I thought maybe somebody might have…"

"You _knew_ he was coming?" This alliance between Les and Logan was really getting to be too much.

"Well, he called to see if I knew where the wedding was, and you said something about City Hall, so…"

I shook my head as I took my coffee, but Les just stood there and stared at me. "Are you going to try and tell me that your boyfriend flying across the country to surprise you is no big deal?"

"Of course not…" I had to smile at the thought of him outside the church, leaning against his car. "But it is _very_ Logan."

"He's done it before?"

"He used to sneak up on me from across the _Atlantic Ocean_. He _loves_ doing stuff like that."

Now it was Leslies turn to shake her head, apparently in disbelief. "You are so jaded."

"I am _not_ jaded…"

"I would _swoon_ if somebody flew across the country for me."

I turned toward the building but made sure she could hear me as I walked away, "You mean if _Finn_ flew across the country for you?"

She hurried to catch up with me, "I said _somebody_ ; as in _anybody_ …"I gave her a skeptical look. "…okay, I wouldn't _complain_ if Finn was the one on the plane, but…"

"I knew it!"

" _Shut up!"_

"Nope; you and your ' _having fun'_ bit is a bunch of crap and you know it."

"It is _not_ a bunch of crap."

"You guys have gone out _at least_ as many nights as you've stayed in over the last two weeks."

She was standing in front of me in the elevator, so I couldn't see her face but when she didn't respond immediately I got worried.

"Not true."

"What?"

"I didn't even really talk to him this weekend."

 _Uh oh._ "What happened?"

"He sent me a text Friday and said that he and Colin were heading out to Vegas for the weekend and that was pretty much it." _Damn it, Finn._ Those guys and Vegas are never a good combination.

She was clearly disappointed, even if she wouldn't admit it. "So this is going to be more of an Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton thing?"

" _No_ … this is just a _fun_ thing. If it doesn't turn into anything else, then it doesn't turn into anything else. No big deal…"

" _Right_."

"Don't you have to work, or something?" We had arrived at my desk, and yes, I had work to do so I gave Leslie a reprieve for now. Lord knows I had a pretty good idea of how she might be feeling right now, given Logan's history, but it would have to wait since she headed off in the direction of her own desk.

Almost as soon as I sat down, Sherry appeared at my desk, "Gerry wants to see you in his office."

 _Okay, deep breath_. He probably just wants to catch me up since I missed yesterday… He glanced up and saw me lingering in his doorway, then went back to what he was doing on his computer. "Sit down, Gilmore."

 _Crap_. I sat down and he continued typing for what seemed like forever; then he stopped and just looked at me. _Double Crap_.

"Listen Gilmore, I got your article… looks good. I sent it to copy this morning..." I exhaled. _Maybe this won't be as bad as…_

"…but I spent some time thinking about what you said about the WikiLeaks story… and I decided to assign it to Duncan."

 _Or maybe it would be worse_ … I told him I wanted that story. I told him I could handle it. I told him he could trust me with it. " _Excuse me_?"

"I heard pitches yesterday, Duncan mentioned it and I told him to hold off, but the more I thought about it, the more I think he's my guy for this."

"But…"

"There's still a stack of leads on your desk for you to follow up on. Find something else."

I was speechless. How could he pull this out from under me? I spent all day yesterday researching. He was already back to looking at his computer, but I couldn't help myself, "Gerry, all due respect, but I've already put a lot of work in on this article. I've put _hours_ into research and…"

He looked up again and folded his hands on top of the papers on his desk, clearly waiting for me to finish. I faltered a little at his sudden attention, "… uh, I'd… I'd really like to follow through. I told you I was up to handling this."

He exhaled, "Look, I just think you're… spread a little thin." He was obviously trying to find a diplomatic way to put it, but his face made it clear. He wasn't going to play nice anymore. He wanted my full attention, or… _I don't know_ … None of it? _Would he really fire me?_ _Could he fire me?_ I started to panic.

"Sir… I really think I can…"

He ran his hand along his chin, considering his options. "Okay."

" _Okay_?"

"Okay… you'll both cover it."

" _Both_ of us? Together?"

"No. You'll cover it, he'll cover it. Bring me a copy by Friday and I'll make a decision." He was already turning back to his computer again.

"So you're only going to run one?"

He paused one last time to look at me before he dismissed me. "Yea… Or bring me something else. It's up to you."

I had a million thoughts running through my head. _Why would he do this_? I _told_ him I wanted it. How did we go from giving me my choice of leads to taking away the one I really wanted?

I ran my hands over my face. I needed to think this out. I got myself another cup of coffee from the break room and sat at my desk.

I thought about everything else that had transpired last week. I thought I made it pretty clear last week after Mitchum showed up that I had no interest in working for him. I even told him about me and Logan… _Was he worried about the merger_? He must have heard the rumors by now, but… _It doesn't even matter_. He said it himself, The Times isn't owned by HPG.

As far as Gerry's other concern, that I send him my work first, I'd cc'd him on the first draft of new article for The Times and he hadn't said anything, which I took for a good sign. If he'd wanted it, he would have said something… _right_?

 _What if he hadn't gotten it_? What if he _did_ get it and was _looking_ for a reason to be upset with me? _This is ridiculous_. I got up and marched back to towards Gerry's office. I had to know what was really going on, but when I got there his door was closed, so I checked with Sherry; he was in a meeting. In fact, every time I tried to catch him over the course of the day he seemed to be in a meeting or out of the office. It was like he was avoiding me.

In the meantime I decided that I wanted… _needed_ to go forward with my WikiLeaks story. I told Gerry I was going to do it well, and I would. I reread some of my research from yesterday and I delved into some recent articles on the story.

I tracked down some sources close to the trial and in the process it occurred to me any of these contacts could put me closer to the election. I was supposed to be focusing on the WikiLeaks story, but Dominic made it pretty clear that having contacts could make or break me at The Times… _Working on one story didn't mean I couldn't work on the other, right_?

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Can I get a big _woohoo_ from all of my fellow Logan fans?! So excited to read that Matt Czuchry officially signed on to the reboot that I _had_ to post a chapter! Don't get me wrong, I know that Logan had his shortcomings, but I'm a sucker for all that charm. (Anybody follow Matt over to The Good Wife? Still pretty charming.) Now I can't wait to see what ASP has up her sleeve, since Rory will be _dating_.

Anyway, enjoy, my faithful readers... As always, more to come soon! xxoo


	30. Chapter 30: You are Not Fred Becker

I'd traded a few texts with Logan throughout the day; he was working late to be ready for their press conference tomorrow. I have plenty to do on my own; besides, this is like the perfect chance to find Les and figure out where her head is _really_ at with this whole Finn thing. I looked back towards her desk but didn't see her, so I sent her a text instead, " _McConnel's tonight?_ "

She replied almost instantaneously, _"Definitely."_

It was relatively quiet when we walked in around seven so we grabbed a booth and Sam brought our usual drinks and fries.

"Alright, let's hear it…"

"Hear what?"

"Come on Les, you _know_ what…" I looked at her for a second before I dove in, "I've done it…"

She looked unimpressed, obviously under the impression that I was feigning empathy, "Done _what_?"

"I've done the, ' _We're just having fun, keep it casual, while I'm actually falling for you'_ thing."

She took a swig of her martini and rolled her eyes at me, "I am _not_ falling for Finn. Maybe I just would have appreciated an invitation to Vegas…. And when did _you_ ever _keep it casual_?"

I _must_ have told her about this before... "With _Logan_. We talked about this…"

" _No_ … we talked about him being an _ass_ , we talked about him repeatedly messing up and _begging_ to take you back… and this whole destiny brought you back together thing is great and all, but we _never_ talked about you _having fun_."

" _Oh geeze_. Okay, well when we met, we weren't exactly friends…"

"Yea, you told me that part… you fought, but then you realized you were challenging each other, blah, blah, again with the destiny…" It was my turn to roll my eyes, but I knew she was kidding.

"The _point_ is, he helped me with this article I was working on and we started hanging out, but I had just broken up with my last boyfriend, which had been this _really_ complicated thing…"

" _Complicated_?" I had obviously peaked her interest. I reluctantly indulged her because I knew she was probably feeling less than stellar at the moment…

"Well, Dean was my first boyfriend in high school, and he was _kind of_ married when we started dating again, but…"

She almost spit out the last of her martini, "Well aren't you just _full_ of surprises."

"Yea, yea, _okay_ …" That was _so_ not the point of the story. " _Anyway_ , we had this weird period where we kind of flirted with each other for a while, but I didn't know if anything was actually going on so I finally mustered up some courage and asked him if he was ever going to do anything about it…"

" _Hell yea!_ " She graciously accepted another martini from Sam as she over exaggerated her enthusiasm.

"So, he told me he wasn't a boyfriend type of guy, and after what had happened with Dean I tried to convince myself that I didn't _have_ to be a girlfriend kind of girl. It worked out okay for a while, but at one point I just decided I couldn't handle it anymore."

"So what happened?"

"I got _really_ drunk one day, wallowed with my mom for a little while, and went back to school to tell him that I shouldn't have tried to be something that I wasn't. I told him we could still be friends, but I didn't want to be one of the _many_ anymore."

"And then what? He just agreed to be your boyfriend, like that?" She snapped her fingers.

"That's not the point. The _point_ is that I know what it's like to…" She was looking at me like I was hanging her out to dry by not finishing my story, so I obliged before continuing, "Not exactly, first he got upset and started yelling about me issuing an ultimatum… _Ironic, right?"_ We both got a chuckle out of that one, "Then, _yea_ , he told me that he would be my boyfriend. Naturally I told him he was crazy and _couldn't_ do it… but _eventually_ he figured it out."

"By eventually, you mean like two weeks ago?"

We laughed again; _Logan deserved a little more credit than that_. "Back to my point… I know what it's like to want more than fun out of a relationship."

She looked defeated, "But I _want_ to want fun…"

"So did I…"

"So you're telling me that I need to get really drunk? If they'd invited me to Vegas I could have… "

" _Not_ what I meant... But I did tell you before you started this that you should be careful."

"I know, but…" I looked at her expectantly... she still hasn't actually said that she has feelings for Finn, but I was pretty much certain that she did. "Well, how was I supposed to know that he could be _so_ …"

 _There it is_. I never thought I'd see the day that Finn was the one being pursued for a relationship, but low and behold it's actually happening. " _Charming_?" I offered for her, knowing that it was a descriptor that I would have used for Logan.

"Yea." She downed the rest of her second martini, clearly hating what she had finally admitted to.

"Happens to the best of us…"

"So Ms. Omniscient, what now?"

"Well… Are you going to _tell_ him you want more than fun?"

"No… I don't know. That will just make things complicated…" I stifled a laugh. If only they knew how complicated things _could_ be.

Suddenly, she took a deep breath and stood up. "I've got to get out of here…"

I got worried for a second, "You're not going to…"

" _No_ … I'm going to go home and sleep. I've got a deadline Thursday, so I'll be too busy to notice if he doesn't call."

I didn't really believe her, "You're sure?"

"Yea... _I think so_ …"

"Want me to kick his ass for you? Maybe have him drawn and quartered?"

Remembering the conversation she had with Logan after our first 'date' made her smile, "No, drawn and quartered is not necessary."

I agreed to let him keep his limbs, but I made a mental note to call him when I got home. _Honestly, who does Finn think he is?_

Les went straight home, but I made a stop back at the office. If I was going to go up against Duncan for this article, not only did I need to do it well, but I needed to get it done _first,_ so I went back to my desk and boxed up the rest of the research.

When I got home I was expecting to add this box to the piles that were stacked in the dining room from the move, but I was surprised to find that the room appeared to be in perfect order. Instead, I placed the box on the table and went upstairs to see if the other boxes had disappeared in a similar manner. Sure enough, I found all of my clothes and shoes arranged in the closet, pressed and unpacked. _It's like the unpacking fairies have been here…_

Downstairs I found the rest of my work stuff had been put in an extra desk that now sat in the office, pictures of my family that used to sit on the window sill above my bed now adorned the mantle… all of my stuff had found a home here; and there was a note… _"Thought you could use a hand. See you tonight. – L"_

I shook my head… _Logan and his notes_. He was right though; unpacking was definitely at the bottom of my to-do list, so the hand definitely helped.

First things first, call Finn and tell him off for running off to Vegas just when things were getting good between him and Leslie. I called, but there was no answer. I sent him a text instead, " _You're on notice."_

While I was at it, I dialed my mom's number. Admittedly, I should have let her know when we got back yesterday and filled her in on Logan's plan. _I should also probably put her mind at ease about him proposing, but this could be fun…_

"My darling daughter… what can I do for you?"

I knew she was going to kill me for this later, but I couldn't help it, "Are you sitting down?"

I could actually hear her breath catch in her throat, and I knew her body was frozen where she stood. _Ladies and gentlemen, my ever predictable mother…_

" _Rory_ …"

" _Relax_. No news is…" I got stuck on the ' _good news'_ part, remembering the conversation I'd had with Leslie about what I would have said if he asked me now. I shook my head quickly and got back to it, " _Anyway_ … He didn't propose. He did however rent out a carousel…"

"He rented out a _carousel_?"

"Yep."

"How Barnum and Bailey of him…"

"Oh yes, I think he's expecting his top hat by FedEx tomorrow."

I could tell she was wrestling with what she wanted to say next, " _So_ … We didn't exactly get to finish our conversation the other night..."

… _About the ring._ " _Right_ … Honestly, I don't know."

"You don't know what? What you'd say?"

"Yes… I mean… No… I…" _Calm down_. I took a deep breath, "I think I know what I'd say."

I imagined her nodding on the other end of the line. "I figured…"

"What does _that_ mean?"

" _Nothing_ … I just... I wanted to know where you stand."

She wants to know _where I stand_? "That's _it?"_

"Yea…"

" _Really_?"

"Look Hun, you're both successful adults, you love each other… What do you want me to say? Be careful?"

" _I don't know_. You usually have _something_ to say…"

"Well, given his outpouring of apologies and confessions of love since he waltzed back into your life, I'm _pretty_ sure his Warren Beatty days are behind him, so…" There was _definitely_ a tone of sarcasm there…

"So you'd be okay with it?"

She exhaled, "Yea… As long as you are, I am."

"Mom…"

"Yea, Hun…"

"I love you."

"I know…"

I filled her in on getting my latest article submitted to Dominic, and gave her the big picture stuff at The Post. I didn't want her to be worried, so I left out some of the finer points, and by the end of our conversation I was more determined than ever to put my article together.

I set myself up at my new desk, which I very much appreciated, and got to work. At the very least I wanted an outline done to bring with me when I met Gerry in the morning. I had completely lost track of everything else when I heard the key in the door.

"Ace?"

"Hey…" I looked at the clock to find that it was almost one o'clock in the morning. _Yikes_.

"What are you doing up?" He walked into the office and kissed me on the cheek.

"Just, uh, working on that article…"

"At _one_ in the morning?"

I'm not sure why, but I was reluctant to tell him about the latest development with Gerry. I guess I wanted to find out what all this was really about... "Yea…" I stood up from the desk, kissed him, and decided to change the subject, "Just thought I'd break in the new desk."

He smirked, "You like?"

"Very much… So what, did you sneak out in the middle of the day and unpack all of my stuff?"

"No, actually, I got some elves to do it… Had to pay an arm and a leg for it too; did you know they unionized?"

"You don't say… Is there a teeny tiny Jimmy Hoffa in charge?"

"I think so…" He chuckled and kissed me again, "So, you ready to call it a night or you going to keep burning the midnight oil?"

I looked back at the desk, saved my work, and followed him upstairs. I definitely needed sleep, especially if I was going to beat Gerry into the office in the morning.

I was in a hurry Wednesday morning to get out of the house, but as I was getting dressed it occurred to me to ask Logan about Finn. He was just getting out of the shower, so I yelled to him from in the closet, "Hey, have you talked to Finn?"

"Uh… not since Saturday, why?"

"Saturday?"

"Yea… usually comes after Friday, before Sunday…"

I rolled my eyes at him as I sat on the foot of the bed to put my shoes on. "You're just _so_ clever…"

He gave me a wink and kissed me on his way to the closet.

"Did he say anything about what he was doing?"

"Yea; He and Colin were in Vegas for the…" The look on his face suggested that he had caught my drift. "I take it Leslie was less than thrilled?"

" _She_ said she's disappointed she didn't get invited, but I think there might be more to it than that…"

"And you want _me_ to do some recon?"

I shrugged my shoulders like it didn't matter to me, but definitely suggesting that it wouldn't be a bad idea.

" _Fine_. I'll see what I can do…"

He emerged from the closet in a very nice suit, looking _very_ dapper. "You clean up pretty nice, Huntzberger."

"Why thank you…"

I put on my watch and checked the time. _Crap_. "I've got to get going."

He looked at me, almost surprised to see that _I_ would be ready to go early, " _Now_?"

"Yea, I just… have to take care of a few things this morning…" I should tell him, but I want to be able to take care of this on my own.

"Like picking up The New York Times?" _Oh my God_. I totally forgot; Dominic said they were running my article, which meant it should be in The Times today…

"Yea… _Definitely_." It was not _actually_ what I had to get done this morning, but it was definitely a good excuse.

"Good. And dinner tonight?"

"I'll be there..." I'd almost forgotten about his press conference, too. _Shoot_. I gave him a kiss for good luck, "Break a leg today… I love you!"

"I love you too, Ace." He was holding out for another kiss, so I gave him a quick peck and was out the door.

I knew that there was a copy of The Time at the apartment, but stopped at the newspaper stand on the corner to get a couple extra copies for my family, picked up a cup of coffee, and was in the office _barely_ before when Gerry normally arrived. I dropped my stuff off at my desk and casually hung around outside his door as people started to trickle into the newsroom… _Where is he?_

After about ten minutes his assistant Sherry showed up at her desk. _Good_.

"Sherry, do you know when Gerry will be in?"

"Oh, he's out of the office this morning…" She shuffled through the mess of papers that was always on her desk to get to his schedule, "He'll be back after lunch." _Great.._. I rush in this morning to meet him, and he's not here.

I made my way back to my desk, took a long drink of coffee and opened The Times… _Holy cow._ _Front page of the features section…_ Below the fold, but _still_... I read the byline: _Rory Gilmore; that's me._ Seeing my first article was amazing, especially since I didn't even know it was happening until I opened the paper, but somehow I think _this_ was even more exciting. Not only did I make it into The Times, but I did it twice… and _I could do it again_.

Leslie came into the newsroom a few minutes later, and I handed her the other copy of the paper as she walked by my desk. She had an excited look on her face before she even opened it, "Really?"

I nodded excitedly as she flipped through to find the article. She sat on the edge of my desk to read through it as I started to click through my email. When she finished she sighed and folded the paper under her arm.

"Well, I guess it's only a matter of time…" I wasn't exactly sure what she meant, but when she saw the slightly confused look on my face she continued. "…until you're on to bigger and better things; you know… greener pastures, your big break, your shot..."

 _Oh_. She was being dramatic. I rolled my eyes, "I'm not on to _anywhere_ …"

" _Yet_."

I thought about it for a second and ultimately decided to let her in on what Dominic had said about the possibility of what it could lead to, particularly if I could find a source close to the upcoming election.

She suddenly looked very sad, "I really _am_ going to lose you…"

"You are _not_ going to lose me… besides, I haven't even really had a chance to start looking for contacts; _and_ I've got to figure out what's going on with Gerry before I do anything else…" I filled her in there too.

"What's his _problem_? He should be trying to keep you here, not push you away…"

"I don't know, but…" I got distracted looking at the first email in my inbox.

" _Rory_?"

"Yea?"

"You alright? You kind of trailed off there…"

"Yea… I just… I have to get some more work done on this piece."

" _Alright_ … let me know when you talk to Gerry, I want to know what his deal is."

I nodded, and then I opened the email. It was from somebody I knew on the campaign; a guy named Jeremy. I'd emailed him on a whim yesterday in a desperate attempt to get information about the trial anywhere I could, but I _never_ expected to hear back from him.

" _Rory… Good to hear from you; it's been a long time. As it happens I do have some information on the WikiLeaks hearing, give me a call. Hopefully we can do some catching up, too. – Jeremy"_

He closed the email with his contact information, and as I finished reading it I flashed back to being on the campaign. We'd spent time together on the trail… not just us, a group of us; younger reporters that kind of flocked together. Honestly, the whole thing with Jeremy reminded me a lot of Marty.

He had tried to kiss me the night of Obama's inauguration. We had all been celebrating and drinking Champaign, and he was cute and very sweet, but I was still such a mess after Logan. At the time I had been so embarrassed about not knowing how to deal with it that I had pretty much just run away. The campaign was over, so the next morning I headed back to Stars Hollow and never really talked to him again.

I don't know what I was thinking when I emailed him yesterday. My first instinct was to delete the email. _What kind of jerk am I? Is this going to be a thing?_ _No_. It's not going to be a thing. It's just work.

I flipped through what I already had for the article. I definitely need more; I need a source close to the case. _I had to call him_.

I picked up the receiver, and immediately put it down, having pictured Logan in the back of my mind. _Oh my god_. _Stop._ I don't want anything from Jeremy except information. _Pick up the phone_. I dialed his number and waited… one ring… two rings… three… "Hello?"

 _Deep breath_ , "Jeremy?"

"Yes."

"This is Rory… Gilmore."

"Rory, hi! How are you?"

 _Okay, this is okay…_ Maybe he didn't even remember that night, "Not bad; yourself?"

"Doing alright…"

An awkward pause…

"…I certainly hadn't expected to hear from you."

 _Nope. He remembers_. "Yea… uh… I remembered seeing somewhere that you were working in the district courts in D.C."

"That's right. And you're at The Post… Congratulations."

"Thanks; you too…" I just want to get the information and move on, "So…"

"Oh, right…" He chuckled nervously for a second before he started speaking again. " _So_ I'm not reporting on the case personally, but a friend of mine has a lot of information on it. I can have him forward you some of what he has; might be a little more than what's coming through the AP."

"That's… _great_! That's exactly what I need, something a little more… Thank you."

"That's what old friends are for, _right_?"

"Right…" He paused again for a second before continuing…

"So how has life been since I saw you last?"

 _Life_? I had no reason to be nervous; really… _it's been years_. The fact that I'm back with the guy that made me run out of his room four years ago was only a _minor_ complication. "Life is… busy." Busy was vague, but it's the truth.

"I hear you… Listen, we should really get together and catch up some time."

"Yea..." It really shouldn't be a big deal. Besides, he's in D.C.; who knows if we'll _actually_ ever get together…

"Yea? I'm actually going to be in the city next week…" _Of course he is_.

I swallowed hard. I can only imagine how awkward this could be. "I'll have to make sure I can get away from work, but..."

"Great. My wife and I are going to be in town for a couple of days, I don't know exactly what our schedule is like, but maybe I'll give you a call."

 _He's married?_ I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. _Thank God_. I don't know if I've ever been so happy to hear that someone is married. "Sure… Maybe we could meet you for coffee or something?"

" _We_?" I was hoping to have worked that in more subtly… _too bad_.

"Yea…" I realized afterword I said it that I should probably check with Logan first, but that was too late now. "His schedule is pretty hectic, but hopefully we can make something work."

"Well alright then… Talk to you soon."

 _Right_. This won't be weird, _right_?

Later that day I did hear from his friend, and I got some great information from him, so regardless of how awkward our interaction was have been I was thankful to have heard from him.

By four-thirty there was still no sign of Gerry… _well that's just fantastic_. I added much of my new information into the article and decided to send it, along with some more of my research to him and see what he had to say. If he knew how much I had gotten done there was a good chance I'd have an upper hand.

When five o'clock rolled around I was packing up my desk so I could get to dinner with Logan and his partners I finally saw Gerry trying to sneak out of his office. I don't know how I missed him going in, but I wasn't going to let him get away. I grabbed all of my stuff and followed him to the elevator.

"Gerry!" He didn't look up right away. _Okay_ ; he is _definitely_ avoiding me. _What is his problem_? "Gerry!"

"Gilmore?" He finally acknowledged me as we stepped into the elevator.

"Listen, after our meeting yesterday I was thinking… I wanted to check in with you and make sure you got cc'd on the article I sent to Dominic the other day…"

He looked up from the papers he'd been reading, "The one that's in The Times today?"

 _Yikes… Deep breath..._ "Yea…"

"I got it."

He _got_ it? And we're still doing this? "Right… good…"

The elevator doors opened and he stepped out, "I have to run Gilmore; was there something else?"

"I…" _What am I supposed to do_? He's not giving me any indication of what the problem is, but _clearly_ there is one. Do I try again tomorrow? "No, I guess not."

"Good." And just like that he was gone. I have never been so confused or frustrated about _anything_. I really didn't have time to worry about it right now; I had to change and meet Logan for dinner. I stopped at the apartment and for once I called for a car to take me to the restaurant.

When I walked in I was glad to see that they were on their way to the tables that occupied the smaller dining room in the back… I managed to _almost_ be on time. Logan had been leading the group, but motioned for them to go on without him and came to meet me.

"Hey…" He kissed me with a big smile on his face, "you look great."

I had to laugh a little at how enthusiastic he was, "I take it things went well today?"

"Very…" I guess I was still a little flustered from my encounter with Gerry and Logan could tell, "You okay?"

I nodded my head, determined not to interrupt the celebration. He was skeptical, so I assured him best I could "Just work stuff… I'm fine."

"You sure?"

I nodded. His concerned eyes lead me to know he wasn't going to let it go that easily, but he relaxed for the moment and led me to the tables where thankfully most of them were still milling about, finishing their cocktails.

He introduced me to several of their biggest investors… _very impressive_ … and a couple of board members who I had met in passing at the party last week. Also flitting around the room was Rebecca, who headed up his PR team.

"Rory this is Rebecca, she's in charge of PR for the company… Rebecca, this is Rory, my _girlfriend_." I was a little preoccupied by the suddenly curt tone of his voice and the way he emphasized the word _girlfriend_. Despite my distraction, she and I exchanged greetings and a smile, though hers seemed decidedly more practiced. I glanced back at Logan trying to get a better feel for the situation and when I saw the hint of nervousness on his face it hit me… _He's slept with her_.

 _Be mature…_ I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and _assume_ that it was before he came back to New York, but when I noticed how enthusiastically she gushed about Logan's statement at the press conference that day I couldn't help but have a minor flashback of the jealousy I had felt towards Bobbi.

As we walked toward the other end of the table I _had_ to find out if I was right, " _So_ … Rebecca?"

"She's one of the best in the business…" I could tell he was trying very hard to be nonchalant about our encounter.

" _I bet_ …" I knew I had no right to be mad. What he did when we were apart was his business; I came to terms with that a long time ago, but I couldn't help the sarcasm.

"She is. She…" He _really_ thought he'd gotten away with it… _How cute_.

For the most part, I was only interested in giving him a bad time… which, I can _proudly_ say, is more that I could have said for myself in this situation several years ago… so I kept my voice low as goaded him, "Oh, _come on_ Logan…"

He knew he was caught now, " _Rory_ …" When I saw the pleading look on his face I had to bite my lip trying to keep a straight face. "…it was…"

" _Stop_." I _really_ don't need to know the details. "We weren't together… it's none of my business…"

"This isn't going to be weird?"

"Well it's a _little_ weird, but…" I took a deep breath, determined to keep the weirdness to a minimum, "I trust you."

He stopped, looked at me and asked in all seriousness, "Really?"

I was a little taken aback by his solemnity, but I meant what I said. However, that didn't necessarily preclude me from having a little fun with this. "Unless I shouldn't…"

" _No_. Rory, please…"

" _Relax_ …" Forget smiling, I was trying not to laugh at this point, "Yes; I trust you."

He breathed a sigh of relief, but in that moment I realized that he would have his chance to trust me, too.

"In the spirit of full disclosure…" He actually looked intrigued at this… perhaps happy to not be the only one with some skeletons in their closet. "…I talked to a friend from the campaign today."

"A _friend_?"

"Yes a _friend_ … He said he and _his wife_ might want to meet us for coffee"

A sly smile spread across his face as he nodded, maybe reading that there was a little more to the situation. I could tell he was going to revel in the prospect of meeting someone from our lost years, even if he was _just a friend_.

Once we sat down I met the majority of his team… There was Vince, Marcus, Michael, and Scott, plus Michael's wife, and Vince's fiancé. Marcus was the Vice President and Logan's apparent right hand man; Michael was acting president of the California office, while Vince and Scott managed the smaller offices in Portland and Seattle.

It was a little overwhelming, but they all seemed very nice and I found myself blushing at their congratulations when Logan made it a point to tell them that I'd gotten another piece published in The Times today, in addition to my regular work at The Post. _He wasn't kidding about bragging._

After dinner Logan stood up to say a few words of thanks and gave a congratulatory toast to the team. They all seemed to respect Logan an awful lot, but the respect was mutual… _he definitely did not to business like his father_.

Besides the generally positive atmosphere of dinner, the best aspect by far was the fact that Mitchum was not yet back from Toronto. He would be back tomorrow, and they would officially be in business... They would give the contracts one more once over, have final discussions with investors, announce the merger Monday and by Friday we would be surrounded by sycophants who worshiped at Mitchum's feet. But for now, I was happy that Logan could take some time to appreciate his own success.

I had heard stories from all of his coworkers about how the company had grown over the years; at one point it was pretty much only Logan, Scott, and Michael making offers to finance online papers before they started taking on bigger clients. It never ceased to amaze me how much he had accomplished.

At the end of the night, Logan and I walked to the car and I was expecting him to continue to revel in their success, but instead he turned towards me, "So...?"

" _So_?" It's not that I'd forgotten about what was going on with Gerry, but I wasn't exactly expecting to talk about it right now either.

" _So_ , what's going on?"

"It's nothing..."

" _Ace_ …" He knows me too well to play it off.

"Really, it's just work stuff…"

" _Work stuff_. That's _all_ you're going to give me? Come on, Ace you're head's been somewhere else half the night, you've been working crazy hours every night this week, you ran out of the apartment this morning…"

"I wanted to get copies of my article…"

"Rory, come on… I know you don't want me involved, but…"

I exhaled as I sat back in the seat of the car, and tried to play things off as smoothly as possible, "Gerry's just kind of giving me a hard time, but its fine."

"He's giving you a hard time about what? The Times?"

"I guess? I don't really know actually, but..." I took a deep breath, finally steadying myself to divulge what I'd been dealing with this week, "He's got me competing with another reporter on the WikiLeaks piece and…"

"You're _competing_?"

"Yea… I _guess_ I get it, you know, he's trying to get the best stuff he can from us, but I _don't_ get why he suddenly flipped on me like this. One minute I'm Katherine Graham, the next I'm Fred Becker…"

"You are _not_ Fred Becker."

"I am… I _totally_ am… I feel like I'm only days away from Gerry's ignoring me all together; I'll get bumped from features and pushed around from one assignment to the next until…"

" _Rory_ …" I took a deep breath; I guess I'd been leaning a little towards manic at that point. _Rein it in a little, come on._ "Why didn't you _tell_ me all of this was going on?"

I took a deep breath, "I don't know. _I_ wanted to handle it… I just wish I knew what was going on with him… He's gotten my articles that I've sent to The Times, he knows I'm with you and that I know Mitchum…"

I stopped long enough to notice that now Logan was the one whose head was somewhere else. We had just pulled up in front of the building and Logan was pulling out his phone.

"Logan?"

He was typing a text message or an email, something that had clearly monopolized his attention. The driver opened my door for me, while Logan opened his own, distractedly walking around the back of the car, still typing. We were in the elevator by the time he had finished reading through what he had written and sent it off.

"Care to share with the class?"

"Just taking care of something…"

I raised my eyebrows at him, silently urging him to give me more information… _If I had to share, so did he._

"Just give me a few hours on this one?" I looked at him suspiciously, but he seemed pretty serious, so I let it slide for now.

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Sorry for the 'lost weekend' so to speak. Busy, busy with Super Bowl festivities. I live in the Bay Area (California) so they were pretty much everywhere this week. _Anyway_ , we are getting SO close to the new stuff, and I'm so excited. There are a few changes here and there in the next two chapters, but more on that in a little while! xxoo


	31. Chapter 31: The Basement, Not Timbuktu

When we got inside he went straight to kitchen, but I was ready to head upstairs.

"Where are you going?" I was standing on the second stair and could see him reaching into the wine cooler. Curiously I descended the two steps, came around the corner and found him holding a bottle of Champaign with two glasses on the counter in front of him.

"What's _this_?"

"Just a little something to celebrate…"

"What are we celebrating _now_?"

He looked at me with a sideways glance and a grin as he poured, "Your article."

I shook my head, "Are you going to do this every time?"

" _No_ … but now, you're _officially_ on a roll. Not one, but _two_ articles in The New York Times? No stopping you now, Ace." I smiled, knowing that he understood what had been on my mind that morning.

Thursday morning Logan was taking his time getting ready while I hurried around the apartment, as per usual.

"Don't _you_ have to go work today?"

"Yea, but I've got a few things to check up on this morning…" I couldn't quite get a read on his tone there; it seemed a little off, but he quickly added, "And I'm procrastinating until I have to meet with Mitchum later."

"A surefire way to start a successful partnership…"

"Hey, I've got until Monday to back out…"

I rolled my eyes at him as he leaned against the doorway, sipping a cup of hot coffee. Rather than dwell on it, he changed the subject, "Oh, I got a text from Colin last night."

" _And_?"

"He seems to think that our dear friend Finn is avoiding a certain someone…"

And here I thought Finn might have finally grown up a little. " _Oh_ …"

"You didn't let me finish…" He was smirking, "He thinks he's avoiding Leslie so he doesn't have to admit that he might have _actual_ feelings for her."

I gave Logan a ' _Really?_ ' look, "Well doesn't that sound familiar…"

"My thoughts exactly…" He was nodding.

"It sounds like you might be planning something, Huntzberger…

"Maybe I am… _Maybe_ we use our cosmic match making skills to get them both _here_ tomorrow night?"

"I like the way your mind works." I kissed him as I headed downstairs, but I had one last thought before I left, "Hey… _No backing out_." He knew as well as I did that I wasn't talking about Les and Finn. We both knew he deserved this merger more than anyone, and he smiled.

I met up with Les at the coffee cart and proposed that she come over for a movie night tomorrow. I _may_ have suggested that Logan and the guys would be out of the house. Since both Leslie and Finn seemed to be running from each other, we thought a seek attack might be best. She happily agreed and I only felt the tiniest twinge of guilt.

Unlike yesterday's misstep, I wasn't leaving a chance to talk to Gerry up to chance. As soon as I got upstairs I had Sherry put me on his schedule for that afternoon and then got right to work on my article. I spent some time looking again at the information Jeremy's friend had sent me, editing and adding it to my other research.

About an hour into my day I got a text from Logan, "Meet me for lunch?"

I smiled, " _Of course."_

Life had been so crazy the last few weeks that we hadn't had lunch together since that _oh-so-fateful_ Sunday five weeks ago… _Five weeks?_ _How was it possible that my life had changed so much in less than five weeks?_

A little before noon I left for McConnell's to meet Logan. He greeted me with a kiss, we sat down and ordered, but only a few minutes after our food arrived I couldn't help my curiosity, "So, have you met with your dad yet?"

"No, but I have the _distinct_ pleasure of basking in his majesty's presence this afternoon..." I was proud of how mature Logan had become when handling his father, but I had to admit that a small part of me was glad to see that there was _some_ of the old Logan still in there. "I did, however, find the invitation to the Benefit on my desk this morning…"

"Don't tell me… It got lost in the mail. _No_! It was intercepted by a group trying to thwart the coup d'état of the New World Order. _Power to the People_! Bring down the one percent!"

" _Yea_! _Damn_ those upper-class elitists." He knew full well that he and his family were pretty much the _embodiment_ of the one percent, but I appreciated his enthusiasm. "No… _apparently_ , the company line is that it was supposed to be a surprise all along."

"Oh how _lovely_ …" I rolled my eyes at the thought of Shira supposedly planning a _surprise_ Benefit.

" _Right_ … Anyway, what do you think about inviting your family?"

" _My family_?" It hadn't even occurred to me…

"Yea… I know it's probably not Luke's thing, but your mom? I know it's a fundraiser, but the money doesn't matter… Or your grandparents, maybe?"

That was more likely, and I had to smile knowing that he knew better than to ask Luke to come. "Yea, I guess… Emily will be _appalled_ by the late invitation, of course."

"I can imagine, but your family seems to be pretty supportive of…"

"Don't tell me Logan Huntzberger is looking for _backup_."

"Hey, I'm just saying that it couldn't hurt to have a couple of people in our corner…"

I completely agreed with him, but a little teasing never hurt. "Okay, I'll call her."

"How about your dad? I know we haven't seen him, but it could be…"

" _My dad?"_ We weren't _not_ speaking, but since I moved to the city we had fallen into a pattern of catching up every couple of months, without much more than a couple of texts in between. "I don't know. I can ask him, but he has Gigi, and…" Before I could finish my sentence I was distracted by an incoming email from Gerry. I read through it quickly… " _Unbelievable_." My dad would have to wait.

"What?" He suddenly looked concerned.

"Gerry just sent me back my article… no real notes; just sent it back saying it needed more. This whole thing _started_ with him giving me crap for putting too much into that article on Saudi Arabia, and _now_ he says I don't have enough?"

Logan was tight lipped as he sat across from me. He definitely had something to say, but he was holding back… " _What_?"

He put down his fork and looked at me, "Before you say _anything_ , I _know_ that I'm not supposed to be involved, but…" _But_? Despite my moratorium on mixing business with pleasure I found myself waiting with baited breath while he seemed to be steadying himself.

"Last night and this morning, when I was ' _taking care of something'_ …" _Is this about me?_ He took another deep breath, obviously conflicted, given my request that he stay removed from my work life. "I think this is about Mitchum."

Now I was just confused, "What's about Mitchum?"

"This thing with Gerry; it's about Mitchum."

" _Mitchum_? But I told him that there was no way that I…"

He shook his head, "It's _him_ and Mitchum."

I had to stop myself from shouting, " _What_?"

His expression was ripe with disgust, "Last night when you mentioned that he'd gone from one extreme to the other… I had my assistant check to see if Gerry had any history with HPG." I stared at him, with all hope of keeping my two lives separate pretty much lost. "Apparently, he applied for several editor positions in the company, and lost out on all of them."

It took me a second to process all of it. I guess I should have known something like this was coming, but it didn't make it any less infuriating. "He's _bitter_?" _I guess being bitter was as good an excuse as any to turn against an employee._ I frantically ran my hand through my hair. _He can't do this_. How could he blame _me_ for _Mitchum_ not hiring him? "How am I supposed to deal with this?"

"I don't know, Ace… I…"

" _No_." I knew I shouldn't have verbalized that question. Of course Logan would want to do something about it. It wasn't fair, he wanted to fix it, and I loved him for it, but… "I will figure this out…"

"You sure?"

 _Technically_ , I shouldn't even know about what happened between Gerry and Mitchum, so maybe I should try to smooth things out first before I go accusing him of acting nefariously. I found myself more appreciative than ever that I had penciled myself into his schedule today. "I'm sure… I have a meeting with him later and we're going to talk about my article and I'm going to find out why he's unhappy with it."

"That's it?"

"For now, yes…" _Yes_. "I'm going to handle this with a level head. I wrote a good piece, I deserve to be printed."

" _Okay_ …" It was clear that Logan would be going about this differently, but for now, that was my plan.

After lunch I headed back to the office. I was glad to have a little over an hour to finish my additions to the article before I headed into this meeting, especially considering what Logan had just told me. _I can't believe that he could act like this._

I had just printed my latest draft and was about to read through it when Gerry walked by my desk, "Gilmore, I see you've added yourself to my schedule?"

"Uh…" _Where did all of my confidence go_? "Yea… Yes I did."

"Well, let's go…"

He kept walking towards his office… _I really wish I'd gotten to give this a final read through, but here goes nothing_.

Before I sat down I handed him the folder containing my new draft and a few extra pages of notes.

"What's this?"

"It's another draft. It's the _more_ that you wanted."

He looked surprised. "Already?"

It felt pretty good to have caught him off guard considering the way things had been playing out. "Well, I never actually _stopped_ working on it…" _A little sucking up couldn't hurt,_ "And to be honest, I think I sent you the first draft a little prematurely. I really just wanted to make sure I got something to you quickly since…" _Don't mention Duncan; be professional_. "Well, I wanted you to know I'm committed to this."

He nodded and opened the folder. I thought I'd driven that last point home pretty convincingly, but the look on his face as he flipped through the pages hadn't changed. I felt myself starting to ramble, "I've picked up another source; I think you'll be pleased with what else has come through, and there's still a little more research there if you think it needs to be fleshed out…"

He shut the folder and cut me off, "Okay; I'll look through it."

"You'll lookthrough it?" _That's it?_

"Yea… I'll let you know." He dropped my folder on the stack in his inbox, rather unceremoniously I might add. He was clearly done with our meeting, so I stood up and started to leave. For a second I seriously considered asking him about Mitchum, but I thought better of it and headed back to my desk.

 _He'll let me know_? I found myself wondering if Duncan had sent him anything yet… _He must have_. Gerry wouldn't be holding out for an article that he hasn't even seen yet. _Would he?_

For all I know, Duncan could have beaten my first draft to Gerry and I was two steps behind the whole time. I printed another copy of this draft and read through it, editing myself as I went… it could use a couple of tweaks here and there, but it's good. _I know it's good_.

When I got home that evening I was exhausted, mostly because of this thing with Gerry, but once I sat down I remembered that I owed calls to my mom and grandmother about the Benefit.. _. Oy._ And my dad… _Double Oy._

My dad and I had always had a bit of a complicated relationship, then when my parents got married things got even crazier. As much as that dream of being a family appealed to me, it was never going to work. Mom and Luke belonged together, and Dad… Dad was never really mature enough for Mom.

He'd gotten better with Gigi… He was a great dad to Gigi, in fact, and I was happy for them. He had to be there for her in a way that he hadn't for me, and I was proud of him for stepping up, but life kept him busy. He had work, and Gigi's schedule, and he usually spent a couple of months in Paris throughout the year so Gigi could be with her mom. When he called or came to town it was great to be with him, but I never counted on it lasting long. It wasn't anything new, and I had accepted it a long time ago.

I scrolled through my phone to see that last time I had talked to him. He had been in New York around New Years. We'd had dinner, and as with every trip to he made, he tried in vain to give me money for a better apartment.

He'd sent me a text after my first Times article was published to congratulate me. I returned the favor, _"Give me a call when you have a chance to catch up."_ Regardless of whether or not he can come to the Benefit, he should at least know about everything else in my life.

After several minutes of no response, and no surprise, I decided to call Mom; between her and her mother there is usually no question about her being the sane one, relatively speaking of course, but I had a minor panic at the thought of putting her within swinging distance of Logan's parents. _She's always my first call anyway, so…_

"Hello, Daughter of mine!"

"Hello, Mother." She was very chipper, I was decidedly less so… _this could be ugly_.

"Well aren't we cheerful this evening?"

"I guess _one_ of us is…"

"I am. Luke is visiting colleges with April today and tomorrow, and Landon is at a play date for another half hour, so for the moment it's just me and Paul Anka."

"Your husband and son abandon you and you're excited about it?"

"Hey, do you _know_ how rare it is to have moments when I don't have to worry about anything? It's like the first like hour of Home Alone when Macaulay Culkin realizes he made his family disappear…"

"Well then, _lucky you_ …"

"Indeed… so what's up?"

"I…" It was a little drawn out; a fair warning for her.

" _Uh oh._ Should this be an uh oh thing? _"_

"Maybe?"

"Okay…" She dramatically took a breath, " _Hit me_."

"What are the odds that you'd have an interest in attending a Benefit for the Journalists of Tomorrow?"

"A _Benefit_? Like an event my mother would be attending? Are you _joking_?"

"No."

" _Why_?"

 _Deep breath_ , "Because it's being thrown by Logan's mother." I spoke the sentence almost as if it had been one word.

" _Excuse me?"_

"Yea…"

"Logan's _mom_? The woman who…"

"We _really_ don't have to go into all the reasons that Shira is on the less than popular list…"

Mom gave an _'are you kidding me'_ laugh, " _Less than popular_? The woman is practically a sociopath… Her list includes Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini… you know pretty much all the leaders of the Axis Powers…"

"I _know_! I get it; _believe_ me I get it…"

"Then _why_ are you trying to get me to go to this thing?"

"Because she organized it as the launch for the merger."

" _Oy_."

"Exactly."

"Not only that, but she waited until pretty much the _last_ possible minute to tell Logan about it."

"She sprung it on you?"

Now it was my turn to laugh, "Me? No." I thought about how I had eavesdropped on the conversation between her and her son, "Actually, now that I think about it, Shira has yet to _actually_ acknowledge me. She told Logan on Monday."

" _Monday_? When is this thing?"

"Next Friday."

" _Next Friday_? Wow, really last minute."

"Yea, I mean I guess she could have _really_ waited for the last minute and told him like next Thursday, but then she wouldn't have given me the opportunity to worry about it for the next week."

"So… this is about you?"

"Not entirely… At least I hope not, but maybe. It's a good cause, but the timing and the scale of the event are a bit suspicious."

"Yikes… Sorry kid, that's rough."

"Yea; so can you come?"

She didn't answer right away; _not a good sign_.

"Well, do you really think Luke would go to something like this?"

"No, of course not, but…"

"And it's a Benefit; seats at this thing have got to be expensive…"

"Logan said not to worry about it; you just have to show up. It's Friday night. I'm going to ask Grandma to come next, so it's like a free pass on a Friday Night Dinner…"

"Oh she'll _love_ that… I can see her face now. She'll be Joe Simpson watching Jessica and Nick walk their first red carpet… Her golden couple making their debut…"

"We are not making our _debut_. And we are _not_ her golden couple… _And really_? _Nick and Jessica?"_

"Sorry, but you _totally_ are. You and Logan are everything she didn't get from me. She's going to get to show you off, let everyone know how successful and happy and in love you are…"

" _Mom_."

"You know, you should let her have her moment..." I was surprised by how genuine she sounded. "Besides… I should be at the Inn. We're booked solid this weekend."

"Really?" Good business is always good news.

"Yea, it's the Firelight Festival." She said it as if I would already know. _I should have already known_. I was seriously disappointed.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me?" I hated missing stuff like that at home.

She got very defensive, "I thought I had! Maybe I did and you forgot… or maybe you just need to come home more often…"

 _Always with the guilt trip._ "Yea, yea…" I really was bummed about the scheduling conflict. I would much rather be at the Firelight Festival than at this stupid Benefit.

There was a pause in our conversation before she spoke again, "Hey…"

"Yea?"

"Did you ask your dad to come to this shindig?"

 _There he is again._ "Not yet… Logan suggested it too. I sent him a text earlier, but mostly to catch him up to speed. _A lot_ has happened since our last update."

"I'll say… And you never know, maybe he'll want to go. He loves waving that checkbook of his around."

I knew that was true, and I knew that she meant it in the most endearing way possible. When he had inherited his family's money he had almost been like a child breaking open a piggy bank. I very much appreciated that he had taken over my tuition at Yale, but some of his suggestions were just overboard.

"Yea, he might…"

"And, you'll be fine, Hun. It's a public event, how bad could she be?" I rolled my eyes at the thought. " _And_ the grandparents will be there to back you up…"

I agreed, a little surprised, but pleasantly so, in the faith that she was putting in her parents.

After talking to Mom, the next on my list was my grandparent's number, "Gilmore residence…"

I didn't recognize the voice; _must be another new maid_.

"Is Emily there, please? This is her granddaughter calling."

"One moment please…" One moment turned into several, and then I could hear Grandma yelling at the poor girl for something in the distance.

She got to the phone and answered, clearly perturbed, "Rory?"

"Hi, Grandma…"

"I have to apologize for Emmiline; how you can't find a person to answer the phone is a mystery to me. For goodness sake, I was in the basement, not Timbuktu."

" _Personally_ , I check the basement first, especially if they ask for Brodie."

"What?"

"Sorry… Mom took over for a second." I chuckled to myself a little, imagining the exasperated look on her face before she continued her story.

"Well, she _knew_ I was working on getting the house ready for spring, I've been looking at lighter fabrics for new drapes, and all of the patio furniture is in the basement."

"Of course…" Agreeing with everything she said was the _only_ way I was going to make it through this conversation.

"Anyway, tell me, what can we do for you? Will you be coming to dinner tomorrow? Are you bringing Logan?"

"No…"

"You haven't broken up already have you?" Her tone had turned sharply.

"No, Grandma, we haven't broken up." _The fact that we were living in sin wasn't a subject I was ready to discuss yet either._

"Good…"

"But we're not coming for dinner tomorrow…"

"Well, just as well I suppose; your grandfather is out of town for the weekend."

"I'm actually calling about _next_ Friday."

" _Next_ Friday? Well that would be fine, too. You're always welcome, you know. _Both_ of you." There was an obvious emphasis on the _both_ of us… She really was going to love this.

"Actually, we were wondering if you'd be interested in joining us for an event next Friday."

"An _event_?"

"A Benefit, actually. For the _Journalists of Tomorrow_ … it's to raise money for inner city journalism programs, and… " I was trying to sell her on the cause in an attempt to downplay the short notice, but I failed miserably.

"A Benefit with only a _week's_ notice? That's _absurd_. And no proper invitation? Who ever heard of…"

"Well, we, I should say _Logan_ , just found out about it the other day; it was supposed to be…" I was so disgusted with the notion that it was supposed to be a _surprise_ that I couldn't even bring myself to say it. "Anyway, Logan's company is merging with HPG and this Benefit is supposed to celebrate the merger…" _Come up with an excuse for the late notice_. "…Everything was kept kind of hush-hush until things were finalized…"

"So I'm supposed to believe this was all planned with _only_ a week to spare?"

She wasn't buying it. I guess I should come clean, "Shira Huntzberger is actually in charge of the event…"

" _Shira_?" She paused and let it sink in, before continuing in a decidedly _Emily-Gilmore_ manner, "Well _of course_ she is. Can you _imagine_? Planning a fundraiser for the _Journalists of Tomorrow_ and she didn't bother to invite us, the _grandparents_ of a journalist… and it's not like you're just _some_ journalist, you're Lo…"

When she stopped short in the middle of Logan's name it was clear that she was beginning to grasp the situation; that _I_ was probably the reason Logan hadn't heard about it until now. After a few seconds of silence I knew that she was beginning to seethe. "Well, does Shira know that the invitation has been extended?"

"Um… I don't think so?" I don't actually have any idea if Logan has run this by his mother.

"So we would be _crashing_ this event?"

I smiled to myself hearing Emily say that she would be crashing _anything._ "Not _technically_ ; I mean Logan said he would pay for your…"

"Don't be silly Rory…" I could almost hear the wheels turning in her head, plotting against Shira's snub. "We'll give her cause a _very_ good donation." I imagined that it would be a number that Shira wouldn't be able to turn down; at least not without making it obvious that they were unwelcome.

"So you'll be there?"

"Oh, well be there…" It was a little intimidating knowing how conniving she could be. "Are you mother and Luke coming?"

"No… It's not exactly Luke's idea of a _good time_ , and Mom is going to be stuck at the Inn."

"Well, how nice of her to let _me_ know that she would be missing dinner…" I didn't mention that the Inn was just an excuse; that Mom was actually trying to be generous and give Grandma her ' _moment'_. I also didn't mention that Dad might be invited.

"Hey, Grandma…"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." I hadn't actually said _why_ I wanted them to be there, but she understood.

"My pleasure."

I still hadn't heard from Logan at 9:30 I decided to take my copy of A Tale of Two Cities up to bed… it occurred to me after the fact that there may have some subconscious reasoning in my selection.

I must have fallen asleep with the reading light still on, because I woke up when Logan turned it off. I looked at the clock… close to one.

"Working late?"

He crawled into bed next to me and kissed my forehead, "Marathon meetings with lawyers, and lawyer's lawyers, more lawyer's than I've ever had interest in knowing…"

"So clearly your favorite part of the job…" I only got a grunt in return. I was about to ask if they were finished with the all of the lawyers but when I turned, he was already asleep.

Friday morning Logan was dressed before I got downstairs, "And so it begins…"

"What?" He was flipping through The Wall Street Journal when I came up behind him to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Late nights, early morning… impossible hours…" I was kind of kidding, knowing that the merger was going to be rough, but I really hoped this wouldn't last forever.

"I know… We've just got to get through this merger."

"So, where are you off to this morning?"

"Getting the board members together for breakfast… HPG _and_ the newly re-branded _Huntzberger Media Corporation_... _One big, happy family_." I smiled hearing what was only the _slightest_ hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"The fun never ends, huh?"

" _Never_ …" He put down the paper and grabbed his briefcase, "This is your fault, you know…"

" _My_ fault?"

"Yes, _your_ fault…" I could easily tell that he was teasing me now. "You and all of your ' _I'm so proud of you'_ and ' _you deserve this'_... I could be back in California right now, happily enjoying life without Mitchum..."

"Oh _really_? _Happily_ enjoying life, huh?"

"Yea, you know… _Happily_ being a relative term." He winked and kissed me on his way out the door, having thoroughly enjoyed goading me as he left.

He finally returned the smile and kissed me before heading to the door.

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Okay, okay, before anyone gets crazy on me, after doing more research than I would like to admit, I _know_ that the Firelight Festival happens in January in the cannon of the show (three months after Rory's Birthday, as stated in season one), so putting it closer to spring is the _slightly_ AU, _but_ I had this image in my head for how a future scene will play out and it was _too good_ not to write that way. I'm usually very particular about staying true to the story, but I _really_ think you're going to love what's coming, so please bare with me!

Now that that's out of the way, some other changes to this chapter include the addition of Christopher... he was never a favorite character of mine, particularly in later seasons, which I think you can tell from how I write about him, but I also didn't like how he just didn't exist in the story before, so we'll deal with him.

So now, we're getting ready for the Benefit, Rory's dealing with Gerry at work... There's a lot going on, so stay tuned. New material to come soon! Follow, favorite, and comment, as always. Let me know your thoughts on Christopher. What would you like to see from Shira at the Benefit? xxoo

P.S: We'll always have Paris! Liza Weil has signed on for two of the revival episodes! Hopefully we'll get to see Doyle, too. Love them together!


	32. Chapter 32: Much Prettier Than Thompson

I was in line at the coffee cart when Leslie caught up with me, "I'm excited for movie night tonight…"

She did seem genuinely excited, but I had to ask, "Maybe it will be a good distraction?"

"Who needs a _distraction_?" She was clearly still working on convincing _herself_ of that. "Isn't it possible that I'm just looking forward to a night with my best friend?"

"I suppose…" I almost felt bad that we were going to Shanghai them into a face to face… _almost_.

"Good. Should we get takeout?"

I looked at her, making it more than obvious that that was a silly question.

She smiled, "Right..."

I didn't hear from Gerry at all during the course of the day; in the meantime I took the chance to send out some potentially presidential feelers, while keeping an eye on Gerry's door. In my search for sources earlier in the week I'd hinted at the prospect, but the more frustrated I became with Gerry, the more I wanted to please Dominic.

Before I left I caught a glimpse of Duncan emerging from Gerry's office. _How did he do that?_ Gerry's going to have to make a decision. I don't know what Duncan submitted but I have to believe mine is better. It _is_ better. I wanted to stop at his office and ask him which way he was leaning he was leaning, but by the time I walked over there his door was shut again. He was on the phone, but I'm pretty sure he was deliberately avoiding looking at me when I passed his window. I didn't know how to interpret this, but it certainly was not helping me relax… _maybe I should have mentioned Mitchum._

I was caught up in my own thoughts when Leslie met up with me at the elevator at the end of the day.

"Ready?"

I nodded. The plan was for Les to come over, we'd start a movie, and then Logan would _accidentally_ show up Colin and Finn.

On the way home, we decided to pair the laughably bad portrayal of John Wayne as Genghis Kahn in _The Conqueror_ with food from the new Mongolian place down the street from the apartment.

I was absentmindedly flipping through the mail I had picked up from Tommy in the elevator when Leslie piped up, "This is so strange."

"What?"

" _This_ …" She gestured around me, "A couple of weeks ago we would have been trekking it up four flights of stairs to get into your apartment…"

She was right. I looked around the elevator… _even the elevator is nice_ … and nodded. To look at this objectively, it was very surreal.

"And you would have had to undo multiple deadbolts to get inside. Now you live _here_. Like _really_ live here."

" _Really_ live here? As opposed to…"

"I don't know… just staying here? I just can't get over it."

"You _did_ help move me in."

"I know I did, but…" I had to smile when I turned the rocket ship key chain over in my hand, and I would be lying if I didn't have moments like this once in a while coming home to this apartment. "…look at this place. I mean, I know this isn't really new to _you,_ but…"

"Hey, it has been a _long_ time since then… Besides, you should see Logan's parent's house; it's like they live in The Louvre."

"Really?"

I nodded, "I mean… they don't have a giant pyramid out front, but…"

"You're not going to tell me that you've been to the _actual_ Louvre, are you?"

"Well the first time my mom and I were backpacking through Europe, so it's not…"

"The _first_ time?"

I rolled my eyes and busied myself getting plates in the kitchen, trying to make this conversation seem as casual as possible. "I went with my grandmother once, _not_ backpacking…" The thought of my grandmother dropping her knapsack on a hostel bed was rather laughable. "And Logan and I spent Christmas in Paris one year…"

" _Christmas_ _in Paris_?" She shook her head, " _Rich_ people, man…"

" _Right_?" She made a face that clearly expressed that my attempt at solidarity gave her no consolation. "Hey, I'm like… rich people _adjacent_."

"Yea, _whatever_ …" I knew she was kidding, but I was kind of eager to move on from this conversation. I motioned for her to grab the plates and head to the coffee table while I carried glasses and a bottle of wine.

About a half hour into the movie I got a text from Logan, ' _Still at work. Stuck in a meeting with a couple of investors." Great_. It was closely followed by, _"Colin and Finn are on their way." Oh boy._ Now I get to entertain everyone… _fantastic_.

Ten minutes later there was a knock at the door.

"Colin, Finn… _What_ a surprise!" I answered the door with what may have been some overzealous enthusiasm, and as I glanced back I saw a mixture of surprise and discomfort on Leslie's face as she paused the movie and stood up from the couch. "Logan's stuck working; he didn't tell you?"

Finn looked equally surprised when he saw Leslie and stumbled somewhat uncharacteristically, "Well, um… we'd hate to be a bother, Love…"

Thankfully, Colin was in on the plan, and played along, "Nonsense Finn… I'm sure Rory doesn't mind if we hang out, right?"

"Of course not…" _It isn't exactly how I envisioned this evening, but what the hell,_ "Come on in!" Colin practically pushed Finn through the door and he and I exchanged a sly glance.

While the boys were busy making themselves at home, Leslie grabbed my arm and pulled me into the kitchen. "So, this is a _surprise_ , huh?"

"Completesurprise." _Lie_.

"Really? I'm here, and Finn just _happens_ to show up?"

"Colin is here _too_. And do you _really_ think I planned this?" I was having a really hard time keeping a straight face as I used her own words, " _Isn't it possible that I just wanted to spend a night with my best friend_?"

She glared at me, no words necessary.

"Okay, don't kill me." I put my hands up defensively. "But, you were avoiding each other… what was I supposed to do?"

"I was _not_ avoiding him."

I continued as if I hadn't heard her, "There was nothing left for us to do but to collude to get you here at the same time…"

" _Us_?" She practically screeched the question, and then quickly lowered her voice, a prudent choice considering the openness of the kitchen. "Is Finn in on this?"

" _No_ … just everybody else." I flashed my best ' _Logan'_ grin, "Besides, I thought you wanted to see more of the _other Rory_."

"Not if she's working against me."

"Leslie, I am _not_ working against you, now would you please just come out here and _relax_."

She reluctantly agreed and allowed me to lead her out of the kitchen.

Colin handed us a couple of drinks as we rejoined the two of them; Finn was noticeably quieter than usual, but was trying to play it cool, "So Lovelies, what are we watching?"

I caught them up on the lackluster plot of the famously bad movie, which they decided to turn into a classic Colin-and-Finn drinking game… potentially dangerous for sure, but a good icebreaker for the relationship challenged in the group.

Several drinks during _and_ a couple more after the movie had ended, Finn and Les had stumbled their way out to the patio furniture on the balcony, Colin had turned up the music but was now wandering around on the phone with the latest object of his affections, and I was attempting, somewhat sloppily, to take care of the leftover food containers when I heard the door open.

"Need a hand there Ace?"

Sooner than I had expected, Logan had appeared behind me in the kitchen where I was trying to balance the containers in the refrigerator, only struggling slightly.

" _Hi_!" _Obviously I've had more than my fair share to drink for the evening_.

Clearly amused by my overly-enthusiastic and clearly inebriated greeting, he gave me a quick kiss and then took the last box from my hand and slid it into the fridge. "Having fun?"

"Well, _somebody_ left me to fend for myself during this _contrivance_ you devised, so I had to do _something_ to get the ball rolling…"

" _Contrivance_?"

"Yes; _Contrivance_ … gimmick, scheme, master plan…" The amused look hadn't left his face as he stood there staring at me. " _What_?"

He shook his head with a laugh, "Nothing… just amazed at your ability to be a walking, drunken thesaurus."

"I am _not_ a dru…" _Yes you are_. "Well, like I said… I was left _alone_ to deal with all of this."

Logan eyed the couple on the patio through the large windows, "Well it looks like you managed. Things seem to be going well."

"They are indeed…" I did _not_ need more wine, but I refilled my empty glass just the same as I mumbled under my breath, "…no thanks to _you_."

" _Wow..._ " I was having a hard time keeping a straight face through my ruse and Logan saw right through it. He laughed as he rounded the counter into the living room, giving Colin a pat on the back as he walked by, "No mercy tonight, huh?"

" _Mercy_ _?_ Why should I show _you_ mercy?" He poured himself a drink and came face to face with me in front of the couch. If we had actually been arguing it would have been the perfect spot for posturing, but even I knew I was being stubborn just for the sake it. I was also having a superbly hard time suppressing the urge to giggle. " _I_ held up my end of the deal. _I_ got Leslie here. _You_ didn't do anything but schluff off your responsibility."

I had thrown my hand out to emphasize _schluff_ and almost lost my already precarious balance. Luckily Logan was ready, not only to catch me, but to pull me onto the couch with him so that I was sitting on his lap. He kissed me again and found his most suppliant voice, "I _know,_ but _please_ consider granting clemency... _Believe me_ , if I could have gotten out of there I would have."

" _Right..."_ I'm not buying it yet… for the sake of argument, of course, "You know, I think I'm actually beginning to agree with Colin and Finn..."

" _Is that so_? And what is it that you are agreeing with them about?"

"You are _no_ fun anymore."

He almost spit out his sip of scotch. " _I'm_ no fun?"

I nodded indignantly.

"This coming from the girl who has been working pretty much _nonstop_ since I've been back in the city?"

"Coming from the _guy_ who hasn't been home before midnight all week."

"You _both_ work too much."

We looked up to see that Leslie had come back through the French doors and picked up on our conversation.

"Here, here…" Finn agreed as he followed close behind. "You should all be more like yours truly." He took the liberty of refilling the empty glasses he was holding, only to have one of them usurped by Colin on his way back into the room. "Oh by all means, _please_ , help yourself…"

"Why thank you, I will… and if by _yours truly_ you mean plastered, slurring and irresponsible, then I think we're better off as we are."

Finn handed Leslie her glass, and went back to pour himself another, but was still partaking in the intoxicated verbal tennis match that had started, "Oh you're one to talk… besides I _meant_ carefree, fun-loving and…"

"So this is what it's like, huh?" It took me a second to register that Logan was whispering in my ear over the repartee that was continuing in the room.

"What what's like?"

"Being you."

" _Excuse me_?"

He chuckled a little, "Six years ago _you_ were the sober one, dutifully watching over _us_ while we were falling all over ourselves, drunk and arguing…"

I nodded; it was definitely the case more often than not. "And _now_?"

"Now, I work late with a bunch of suits, then come home and get stuck with all of you lushes giving Hunter Thompson a run for his money."

His observation was rank with sarcasm, so _why stop with the stubbornness now_? "I resent that wholeheartedly…"

He laughed, " _As you should_ … you're much prettier than Thompson."

" _Hey_!" He laughed as he dodged my fist aiming for his shoulder. "Finn on the other hand might be ready to join the Hell's Angels any minute…"

"Oh leave him alone…"

"Are you telling me that you don't think he would appreciate having his ashes fired out of a cannon?"

We were suddenly interrupted by an argument over Colin's phone, which was now in the possession of Finn. "Finn, stop being an ass!"

"Colin, you're the ass. You told her you would call her… and yes…" He turned to Logan, "…I think a cannon would be an especially appropriate send off for me."

Logan laughed as he inquired, "Who is he supposed to call?"

"Cosette… she's French."

Colin very flatly corrected him, "She's French-Canadian…"

"What's the difference?"

"What happened to the girl you were just on the phone with?" Leslie clearly hadn't had enough experience with them to know how desperate they usually were.

"Who knows... And Cosette is hardly any more interesting than anything _else_ to come out of Canada."

I somehow managed to come up with some of my high school French, only slurring slightly, "Elle parle Français?"

Finn took the liberty of answering me, "Oui."

Colin continued to defend himself in French, "Elle vit au Québec."

"Appelez-la de toute façon."

Leslie was lost, "Um… For us _prep-school_ impaired, could we keep this conversation in English, please?"

He rolled his eyes, "She lives in Quebec… and I am _not_ calling her."

"Because you have _so_ many other options rolling in…"

"Shut up, Finn."

Logan had to jump in, "Why _not_ call her? You could jump on a plane and be there in two hours."

Even I found myself ganging up on him now, "Yea, you know put on some Patti LaBell. A little _Voulez-vous Coucher Avec Moi_."

"Now that one, I understood." I smiled at Leslie… _She would know what that meant_. "I agree with Rory."

"God, you know what? Fine, I'll call her, but I'm not sitting around here to be harassed when I do..." He was rather worked up as he grabbed his phone, and Logan and Finn cheering him on did nothing to help his mood, "You all _deserve_ each other."

With that he stormed out of the apartment while the boys dissolved into laughter, knowing full well that the argument would be forgotten by tomorrow. Harassing each other has always been a favorite past time of theirs.

Finn looked at Leslie, "Well, I think we could take this as our cue as well…" He stood and held out a hand to her, which she gladly accepted.

" _Our_ cue?" I couldn't help myself from egging them on a little bit.

"Well, uh…" He cleared his throat and collected himself quickly, "I'd be remiss to let a lovely lady fend for herself getting home at this hour…"

"Yea, I bet…" Logan goaded him as they made their way toward the door.

I assured Leslie that I'd call her later in the weekend, and Logan added on more remark as they headed down the hall to the elevator, "Hey Finn…"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Don't screw this up."

Finn winked as they got on the elevator, and I had to laugh… _the plan did work_. The laugh turned into a yawn and I steadied myself against Logan as he shut the door.

He was the one laughing now, "Alright, Bluto… Let's get you to bed."

Saturday morning I woke up earlier than expected, only a little worse for the wear, and when I followed the aroma of coffee downstairs I found Logan sitting at the counter on his laptop… _Surprise, surprise._

"Hey you…"

I mumbled a hello before he kissed me, and was on my way to pouring myself a cup of coffee only to be interrupted by a knock at the door. _Who the hell is here at seven thirty in the morning?_

I opened it to find Leslie holding the usual stack of newspapers, "Hey, did I leave my phone here last night?"

With no further invitation necessary she came through the doorway, dropped the papers next to Logan at the counter and went in search of her phone. "Please, _come on in_ …" I was surprised to see that she seemed to be perfectly fine after last night's gathering. "You seem chipper…"

" _I am_." To no surprise of mine, she was sporting her patented ' _up to no good'_ face.

I knew better than to go looking for details, but Logan, who was now handing me the cup of coffee that I had yet to pour for myself inquired, "So I take it that Finn managed not to screw things up this time?"

"He screw…"

" _Please_ don't." Judging from the tone of what was only the first word and a half of her sentence I knew that I didn't want to know the rest.

Leslie shrugged and busied herself searching for her phone while Logan let out a laugh before turning to me, "So what do you think? Pancakes?"

"I _love_ you."

Garnering another laugh from him and earning myself a kiss I followed him back into the kitchen, hoping that he would trust me enough in the kitchen to at least let me help him with _pancakes_.

"Yes!" We could hear her through the closed French doors to the balcony before she came back inside.

"Found it?"

She answered me by valiantly waving her prize above her head.

"Can we interest you in some breakfast?"

"Can't, sorry."

I was about to take an extra plate from the cupboard when I heard her reply, "You're turning down _breakfast_? What's got you in such a hurry this morning?"

"I'm meeting Finn."

"Of course you are."

"We're going to look at apartments."

" _Excuse me_?"

"Oh God, _relax_ ; apartments for _him_."

"Wow…" Logan looked genuinely surprised by the notion of them apartment hunting together.

I too was intrigued, "That sounds a lot like commitment."

Leslie rolled her eyes, "It's not a big of a deal. He's been living in a hotel for the last few weeks; he just figured it was time to find a place." She was very intent on making it all seem very casual.

" _Right_ …"

Logan agreed with me, "For _Finn_? That's a commitment."

"Not to _me_. He's just deciding to stick around the city."

"But he's taking _you_ to look for apartments."

She shook her head, resolute in her belief that it had nothing to do with her. "I told you… _not_ a big deal."

I looked at Logan, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

He nodded in agreement, "Indeed."

She looked at the two of us for a minute in frustration while we struggled to keep straight faces. Deciding that she was on the losing end of this two-to-one argument she conceded. " _Whatever_. Enjoy your breakfast."

She left without another word and we couldn't help but laugh a little at the two of our reluctantly infatuated friends.

We did enjoy our breakfast, but even more than that I enjoyed the fact that we were well into a day with no interruptions from work so far. Midway through the morning we were making our way through the stack of newspapers on the patio. It was still chilly outside, but the sun was shining; lovely weather to go with our lovely morning.

Out of habit I reached for The Post and flipped it open to Features. I scanned the page and…

" _Are you kidding me?_ "

 _I can't believe it_. There; right there in black and white… _My_ headline followed by _Duncan's_ name.

"What?"

" _Oh my God."_ I started to scan through the article and was only slightly relieved to see that it was actually his writing, but it was still _my_ headline, not to mention the fact that this meant that _my_ article had been eschewed in favor of his.

"Ace? _"_

"I cannot _believe_ that he… _Ugh!_ "

" _Rory,_ catch me up here."

"Gerry."

He looked at me, waiting for me to continue.

"He went with Duncan's article."

"About the WikiLeaks story?"

All I could muster was an exacerbated sigh as I tossed the paper to him.

"Did you talk to him about Mitchum?"

 _No_ … _and boy, am I regretting it right now_. I just shook my head, and then watched him as he read the article.

"You _should_ have."

"It shouldn't _matter_."

" _I_ know that, but apparently it does..." He tossed the paper down on the table, "This is crap."

" _Logan_..." I don't need him to defend me just for the sake of argument.

"I'm serious. I read what you wrote, this doesn't even compare."

 _What_? "You read my article?"

He shrugged in defense of himself, "You left a copy of it on the printer..." I wasn't mad, just surprised, and he could see it on my face.

He smirked, "Hey, what's the point in living with a reporter if you can't get advance copy of the news?"

I caught myself smiling before I realized that I was still pissed at Gerry, "Well the fact that mine was better apparently isn't going to help _now.._." I looked down at the article again and only became more disgusted, " _Ugh_. He couldn't even _tell_ me he was going with Duncan's article? He just publishes it, with _my_ headline no less, and assumes that I'll see it for myself?"

As he sat there it was clear that Logan was at least as frustrated as I was. "You should send it to Dominic."

"What?"

"Your version of the article; send it to Dominic."

I thought about it for a second. There's really no reason I shouldn't. Gerry had his chance to publish it, which is all he asked for, and he clearly wasn't interested. I don't know how interested The Times would be in a second hand piece, but… "I'd need a new headline. And it could use some work…"

"It's already a great article".

The wheels were turning in my head already, "I should make it more about the administration's reaction. Dominic wants stuff that's going work in favor of my political portfolio."

An expectant smile spread across Logan's face, understanding that I knew what I needed to get done and wondering what I was waiting for.

I returned his smile, suddenly very motivated to stick it to Gerry, and kissed him on my way back inside. I sat myself down at my desk and delved in, pretty much consumed with making it an article worthy of my Times portfolio.

By Sunday morning I was fairly confident that I had completed my task. I knew Logan was going to be busy that morning getting together with the board of the soon-to-be renamed Huntzberger Media Corporation to go over the last minute details before the official merger tomorrow, but since he was apparently keen on previewing my work I decided to slip him a copy over coffee… _make sure it's fit to print_.

He was coming to the end of it and began to shake his head. I got worried for a second… I hadn't changed _that_ much about it… but a smile spread across his face as he finished.

"You _sure_ you don't want to write for one of our papers?"

"Ha ha." I snatched the paper back from him. "So you think it's good?"

"It's _great_."

"You're sure? I was thinking that the ending…"

"Send it. Trust me."

I nodded, reassured in my quest.

"Hey, what do you say to dinner tonight… just you and me?"

I thought for a second about how crazy things could get after tomorrow, "A little calm before the storm?"

"Yea, something like that."

I agreed, and with a kiss he was out the door, off to his meetings.

I retreated back to my computer. I drafted an email to Dominic, explaining how motivated I was this one published without going into too much detail. I attached the article and sent it on its way, with no copy to Gerry.

Logan was supposed to home around seven so we could go to dinner, and in the meantime I made the unfortunate mistake of rereading Duncan's story… _twice_. _Mine was definitely the better written piece_. I knew that I shouldn't have kept reading it, but I couldn't help myself... It only got me more worked up and by the time Logan came through the door I had just finished sending Gerry an email, demanding a meeting with him tomorrow.

Dinner was supposed to be relaxing for Logan before things got even busier with work, but I knew I was distracted the whole night. I couldn't stop scenarios of how this meeting would go with Gerry from running through my head. I was dreading having to bring up Mitchum. This felt so stupid and childish.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

I snapped back to attention and looked at Logan sitting across the table from me, patiently putting up with my absentmindedness. "I'm sorry… I'm just… I have a feeling this is not going to be a good meeting tomorrow."

"Hey, if anybody can empathize with getting screwed over because of my dad, it's me."

"I know, it just… It _sucks_."

"Well Gerry is crazy to pass up an article from someone who is so well spoken."

" _Logan_ …" I caught a hint of a smile on his face and a smidgen of sarcasm in his voice.

" _Come on, Ace_ … you know I'm kidding. You need to relax." I nodded… _Easier said than done._

Monday morning I was up early and made it into the office before almost anyone else, determined to be sure that I was on Gerry's schedule for that day. I checked the calendar that Sherry kept at her desk and I found my name penciled in at 3 o'clock. _Not until_ _3 o'clock? Really?_ Though maybe it's a good thing since I'm still not exactly sure how I'm going to approach the whole " _You-shouldn't-punish-me-for-my-boyfriend's-dad-not-giving-you-a-job_ " thing.

During the day I figured I could at least be productive in terms of looking into sympathizing groups that have popped up over the last couple of years since WikiLeaks first started publishing. Even if Dominic doesn't like what I sent him, maybe Gerry will get over the Mitchum thing and let me do a follow up piece… _maybe_.

Logan and Mitchum were holding a press conference to officially announce the merger at one, so I took a late lunch and headed to the break room. I sat down with a cup of coffee and the chair next to me at the table was quickly filled by Leslie.

"Hey…" She nodded to the TV, "Loverboy's press conference?"

I nodded as I took a sip of coffee.

"So when do you meet with Gerry?"

"What?"

"Duncan's crap story was in the paper on Saturday, so I assume you're taking this to Gerry."

 _Gotta love Leslie_. "3 o'clock."

She nodded, taking pride in the fact that she was right. "You gonna stick it to him?"

I rolled my eyes right as the press conference began, and afterwards I spent the next hour trying to prepare myself for the impending meeting. At about 2:40 I got an email from Dominic. _Finally_.

 _Gilmore,_

 _Really good work. Some of your best so far; whatever's got you inspired is working for you. Sent it on to The Times, I'll keep you updated._

That is _exactly_ what I needed to hear before I go into this meeting _. I knew it was good_.

Sherry called my desk right at three to let me know Gerry was ready for me. I collected myself and took a deep breath before I headed to his office. _Stand your ground_. _You deserved that byline._

I found him looking over things at his desk, as per usual. He acknowledged me without looking up, "Gilmore, sit down."

I did and then he continued, though he was still occupied with what I could see was another article, "I got your email. What's so urgent?"

I was dumbfounded for a second. _What's so urgent?_ "Well…"

He finally looked up at me, having connected the dots, "Oh, right. I take it you saw the paper Saturday…" _Yes I saw the paper Saturday_. He went back to what he had been reading, "…it's a tough break, but Duncan had the stronger piece."

 _That's a load of crap_. "Did he?"

Once again he was looking up at me, evidently surprised. _Honestly, I was a little surprised_. After all of my mental preparation for this meeting I felt like I was now flying by the seat of my pants.

He sat up straighter in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest. "Are you questioning my judgement?"

 _Don't get too excited._ "Well, I'm… I'd like to know what went into your decision."

Apparently unfazed by my line of questioning he responded very flatly, "He had the better piece, Gilmore. That's it."

"That's _it_?" _Yep, definitely going rogue here_.

He sat back in his chair, still apparently calm, but I could still see a small vein beginning to appear in his temple. "Look, I gave you both a shot. I gave you the chance to write something else, you _chose_ to do this and he came out on top. Like I said, it's a tough break, but like I said, you had options."

 _Remember to breathe_. "I know. You were very clear. I… I just want to know if you chose the article based on writing alone."

"Excuse me?" He was verging on defensive at this point, though I suppose that as my superior he had a right to be. _Here goes nothing_.

"I _know_ that I wrote a quality piece, so I'm wondering if there was anything else that went into your decision to print Duncan's instead of mine." I heard a little bit of an edge in my voice as I spat out Duncan's name. _Oops_.

"Just what is it that you're getting at Gilmore?" He had shifted in his chair a couple of times now. I am definitely swimming in dangerous waters here.

I did my best to remain as calm as possible when I asked the inevitable. It's what I came here to do after all, isn't it? "Did your choice have anything to do with my association with Mitchum Huntzberger?"

He dropped his arms on to his desk as he leaned forward and I could see that vein in his left temple throbbing now. _Stay calm_. "What would make you think that _Mitchum_ _Huntzberger_ have to do with this?"

 _Well, your reaction, for one thing._ "I… I just want to make sure that any history between…"

" _History_?" We exchanged looks over his desk and I could see it register in his eyes. He knows that I know about his past attempts to be hired by HPG. His face began to darken. _This is not going well._

"Look, I just…" _Breathe_. "We talked before about how I want to keep my personal life separate from my work and I want to make sure that we're still on the same page."

He sat back in his chair, but his face remained unchanged. "Sure, Gilmore; we're on the same page."

"We are?" So far, he had instilled _zero_ confidence in me that supported that statement.

He nodded.

 _Okay, give it a shot_. I continued tentatively, "Good. In that case, I'm hoping that you'll give me a chance to do a follow up, or maybe a companion piece about other groups that have been forming related to WikiLeaks…"

"No."

 _What happened to being on the same page?_ "No?"

"Here… look these over." He dug a folder out from under the other papers on his desk and handed it to me. "Come up with a couple of ideas for our pitch meeting and we'll talk about them tomorrow."

Once again he picked up the article on his desk and resumed his reading, effectively dismissing me from our meeting, and I was left feeling like I had gone through a revolving door a little too quickly. He claims Duncan had the better story, but I know that's not true. He got _way_ too defensive when I brought up Mitchum, but still asserts that it had nothing to do with how he made his decision. He shoots me down for a chance to follow up on the story and… _Are you kidding me?_

I had opened the folder he had given me as I sat at my desk and found that there wasn't a single thing in this stack of so called leads worth writing about. _Did he really expect me to find something in here?_

It wasn't that I was getting too big for my britches or anything like that, but _honestly_. This was all fluff; the kind of stuff that nobody notices whether or not it's in the paper at all. _Its crap is what it is_. I really had gone from feast to famine.

After reading through the first five or six, I just couldn't bring myself to look at what the other options were. I tried to ignore it and continue to work on that companion piece despite what Gerry had said, but the yellow folder was taunting me from my inbox. I thought about going back into Gerry's office and letting him know what I thought about his options, but I convinced myself that that would not be in my vest interest. _I have to get out of here_.

It was late enough in the afternoon that I could slip out without anyone noticing… although at this point it seems like Gerry would be happier with me gone. I replayed the whole thing in my mind again on the train on my way home, and I only ended up getting more upset about it. Needless to say that by the time I opened the door I was practically livid.

"Hey, how'd it go?" I was surprised to see that Logan was home. I thought for sure he would be stuck working until all hours right from the get go, and yet here he was at quarter to five.

Despite the pleasant surprise of his company the best response I could manage was to drop my laptop and bag heavily on the dining room table.

"That good, huh?"

"Worse."

" _Worse_?" The look of genuine concern on Logan's face registered appreciation within me and I made a mental note to thank him when I wasn't so wrapped up in crazy.

"He told me it was a _tough break_ and that Duncan just had a better piece than me; then not only did he deny that Mitchum had any bearing on his decision, but he then gives me a stack of _crap_ leads to choose from before our pitch meeting tomorrow."

"What did you say?"

I slumped into a stool at the counter and Logan handed me a glass of pity wine. _What did I say?_ "Nothing."

"You didn't say _anything_?"

"Well he was denying everything, and I didn't see what he had given me to choose from until I got back to my desk…"

I took a less than ladylike gulp and stared into the glass.

"I'm a better writer than _Duncan_. I deserved that piece."

"I know."

"And Dominic knows it. He said is some of my best stuff."

"That's great, Ace… Did you tell _Gerry_ that?"

I took another swallow from my glass, and admitted, "No."

" _Rory_ …"

I stood up from the counter, for whatever reason thinking that it would help support my argument, "Well, it's not for sure getting published yet. I don't want to go rubbing his face in it and then having to eat my words later… Plus he's still claiming that Mitchum had nothing to do with it…"

Logan rolled his eyes. "He actually said that? That Mitchum has nothing to do with it?"

I thought back to our meeting. "Well, he managed to avoid actually addressing it specifically… but there's an obvious conflict of interest there, _right_?"

"Right."

I could hear myself getting worked up about it all over again. "And I started looking into another piece, something to go with what I'd already written, and he shot me down without even looking at it, then hands me that pile of _fluff_ to take my pick from." I downed the last of my wine and continued my diatribe. "He can't do this… I should get to write what I want to write, especially when I do it better than somebody else… _right_?"

Logan nodded in agreement, "Right."

"And if he can't see that I'm doing better work than _Duncan_ then he's an idiot, _right_?

He nodded again, continuing to calmly agree but this time stifling a smile, "Right."

"I just…" I exhaled, finally calming down a little, "What am I supposed to do?"

He looked at me, silently asking if I really wanted his opinion. _I really did_.

"Quit."

 _What?_ " _Quit?_ Are you kidding?"

"No."

"I not going to quit my job, Logan."

"Why not?"

"Because… it's _crazy_."

Several ' _right's_ ago Logan had taken a seat at the counter while I had been manically pacing around the kitchen. It would seem between the two of us that he was the more level headed one in that moment but this suggestion of his really was crazy.

"It's not crazy."

" _Logan_ be serious."

"I am being serious. You don't need to put up with his crap. You're writing for _The Times_ , Ace."

What is _wrong_ with him? "But that's not a _real_ job. It's freelance work… I mean it looks good, but a few freelance pieces does _not_ a career make."

"It _could_ be a real job."

I rolled my eyes, "Could we please be a _little_ pragmatic?"

"I am."

 _You're being ridiculous_. "You know what Dominic said, there isn't even a guarantee that they're going to be taking on new staff even if it _is_ an election year…"

He was almost sarcastic at this point, "They're _going_ to take on staff."

"Even then, what are the odds that they'd hire _me_?"

"Ace, you've probably gotten as many pieces published over there in the last month than half of their staff writers."

I'm not getting anywhere with this argument. "Well, what about Leslie? I'm just going to leave her?"

" _Leslie_ can handle herself." We _both_ knew that was true. He ran his hands over his face and audibly exhaled, "Look… You're unhappy, right?"

Obviously I was unhappy; I nodded.

"Then _do_ something about it. You're not getting the work you deserve at The Post..."

"But at The Post I have a _job_. A _consistent_ job; a job with a _salary_ , you know, where they pay me regularly…"

" _Rory_ …"He scoffed and gestured around the room, implying that money was a stupid argument.

He has to know how uncomfortable I would be living off of him. "But I have credit card bills, and rent, and…"

" _Rent_?" You're still paying _rent_?"

"My lease isn't up until June."

He rolled his eyes, "Are you _kidding_?"

"That's entirely beside the point…"

"No it's not..." He changed his mind, "Okay, even if it is, you're just making excuses."

"I am _not_."

"You are. You're scared."

"I'm not _scared_."

"Rory, come on..." I glared at him, but he continued, "You've wanted to work for The New York Times for as long as I've known you, and _this_ is your chance. It's a _real_ chance. This is not about Leslie, or money, or anything else. This is about you being scared to commit to the chance."

I knew he was right; it was only a matter of resigning myself to that fact... " _Of course_ I'm scared. They've turned me down before… _more_ than once. It's a _huge_ risk, especially if I don't have a _real_ job to fall back on."

"It's different this time… you know it is. You have your foot in the door, they know you. And if you quit you'll be able to really focus on what you're writing for them…"

Everything he said was true, but _quitting my job_? It was crazy; _absolutely crazy_. _I can't quit my job_ … _Can I?_

* * *

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - Many apologies for my delay in posting recently... I work full time and go to school full time, so please grant me some clemency! I hope this nice long chapter qualifies as a little bit of recompense. And the best news... WE ARE READY FOR NEW MATERIAL! I've been working on bits and pieces, even with my crazy schedule and while I've been re-editing my existing chapters, and while I'm not expecting my schedule to let up anytime soon, hopefully I'll find some opportunities to piece them together into some decent chapters for you!

Any new theories/ideas about what we might expect from the revival? I've been keeping up with all the news, and am eagerly anticipating any and all info from the set. What do you guys think we will see? And more/just as important, what do you want to see coming up in the new chapters?

Comment, follow, and favorite... Love to all! xxoo


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